Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, MP, has urged Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to postpone university examinations considering the health hazard posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and related issues.
Dr. Tharoor has been repeatedly asking the State government to postpone university examinations so that the students are relieved of the stress in this time of the pandemic.
Immense pressure
In a letter to Mr. Vijayan, Dr. Tharoor said he had received over 3,500 emails this week alone from anxious students highlighting the immense strain they were currently under due to the decision taken by universities such as the University of Kerala, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University and Mahatma Gandhi University.
With the number of cases in the State rising again, there was a strong health hazard that these students would have to confront while travelling to examination centres and appearing for exams, Dr. Tharoor said. Many of the examination centres were located in COVID-19 hotspots, the MP said.
“Similarly, due to the rising number of cases, the State government and various district administrations have taken a number of steps in a bid to curtail the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, including reduced frequency of public transport, closure of internet cafes, mandatory physical distancing protocols and so on, which have also posed a strong obstacle to our students,” he said.
With a majority of these students living with their parents and other elderly family members, there was the worry of spreading the virus among high-risk groups, Dr. Tharoor said in the letter dated June 23.
Impediment
“These challenges cumulatively pose a strong impediment for our students to perform to their true potential,” he said.
“Conducting examinations... is a risk that we must not force our students to face. Instead, these examinations should be postponed till such time as the current situation subsides, or, alternatively, a substitute model for grading and evaluations should be considered and adopted keeping in mind these extraordinary conditions,” he said.