Schools forced to postpone summer vacation due to tests

Ludhiana: As there is no official notification about exclusion of schools that are conducting exams after May 15, parents, students and the authorities of private as well as public schools are confused about online baseline tests during holidays.
The education department has announced that it will be conducting online baseline tests from May 16 to May 19.
Digvijay Pal, president of Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF), said, “Exams for Class X and XII are now in progress and more than half of the teachers in Punjab are currently delivering examination duties. The required educational process between students and teachers has not been completed yet. Under these circumstances, baseline tests have been imposed on schools.”
Daljit Samrala, a government teacher and general secretary of DTF said, “On the one hand, the department is ordering baseline tests from May 16 to May 19, on the other hand, the Punjab School Education Board is conducting Class X and XII examinations on the same dates; Turns out, the right hand does not know what the left does here. These online tests should be cancelled and only offline examinations should be conducted after completion of the education process.”
Harmeet Warraich, principal of Nankana Sahib Public School said, “We would be conducting unit tests for classes 9 to 12 from May 16 and teachers are already engaged in the evaluation process for board exams. We would be seeking parent’s permission before the exams.”
Sister Reena D’souza from Sacred Heart Convent School, Sarabha Nagar, said, “ We plan one year ahead for our summer break, as students who go abroad have to make arrangements and have to book much early. So, we already announced summer break from May 22, but we now have to conduct tests from May 16-21.”