PANAJI: The Goa board of secondary and higher secondary education has instructed schools affiliated to it that all exams for Class IX and XI must be held by calling students to school. The move comes after the directorate of education’s (DoE) instructions to start physical classes for these students.
The board, however, has granted schools several liberties, including choosing the time, weightage and nature of the question papers.
Institutes, for instance, can set their own examination papers, based on how much portion has been covered by the individual school in the pandemic-hit academic year.
Usually, schools have to follow the common papers set and uniform exam timetables drawn up for Class IX and XI by the Goa Higher Secondary School Principals’ Forum and the Goa Headmasters’ Association.
“Those schools that have already conducted their first mid-term and first term exam need not conduct (them) again,” the board said.
Institutes have also been given the freedom to conduct the exams for 50% of the weightage, if they so wish.
“Liberty is given to schools to set the papers of first and second term with full weightage or with 50% weightage, then converting it into full weightage (e.g. 80 marks paper shall be conducted of 40 marks and converted into 80 marks by multiplying by 2). Time limit for such papers shall be proportionally fixed,” the board has said. The same can also be done with the practical component, schools have been told.
These exam guidelines have been prepared in consultation with the principals' forum and headmasters' association, the board said.
“All Covid SOPs shall be strictly followed while conducting the exams,” states the circular.
All exams for Class IX and XI have to, however, be completed for the academic year by April 24, the board said “to enable schools to provide infrastructure and manpower for the conduct of board examinations (for Class X and XII) which are going to start from April 26”.
GFX
Offline classes for Class X and XII students started from November 21, 2020, only for students where their parents consented
Practicals in the physical mode to be held for Class IX and XI students from January 11, 2021 for science and vocational stream students
Schools asked to take initiative to hold offline classes for Class IX and XI wherever feasible for commerce and arts stream students
Students of Class I to VIII allowed to answer exams from home
Exams for Class III to VIII in written form
SCERT to issue guidelines for exams for Class I and II