The Andhra Pradesh government has decided to cancel SSC public exams in view of a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases.
Announcing the decision at a press conference on Saturday, Education Minister Adimulapu Suresh said keeping the safety of the students in mind, it was decided to pass all 10th class students without writing the exams.
Mr. Suresh said the Education Department had been asked to evolve a mechanism to award grades to the students, as they would need them for their higher studies. Students who had failed in the Intermediate first and second year courses, also would be passed without writing the advanced supplementary exams, the Minister said.
Meeting
The 10th class students were scheduled to write their public exams from July 10 to 17. But a spurt in the cases of Coronavirus made the government rethink on the issue. A meeting held on Thursday between the Minister, the department officials and Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy to review the situation, discussed threadbare all the key aspects involved in the conduct of the examinations.
After weighing the pros and cons of the situation, Mr. Jagan asked the department to cancel the exams in the larger interests of the students, Mr. Suresh said.
Mr. Suresh said the government was determined to conduct the SSC examinations considering that this was the most crucial exam of the students’ life. He said the department officials had worked relentlessly to identify and establish exam centres with all safety norms in place. Online classes were being organised for 10th class students through a Doordarshan channel telecast and the number of papers had been brought down to six from 11 and works were apace to ensure safety to students in the exam centres.
The Minister said a video conference held with the department officials, teachers’ unions and parents on June 15 for a feedback brought to the fore serious concerns raised by all sections. Many parents and leaders of teacher unions pointed out that even though the department was ready to make fool-proof arrangements at the exam centres, students would be exposed to grave health threats while travelling from home to the centre.
Mr. Suresh said the teachers unions had cautioned that with the increase in the number of containment zones, safety of children writing the exams would be at high risk. He said the Chief Minister was of the view that the safety of the students was paramount and thus, the decision to cancel the exams.