Assessment options under study for HSC, SSC pupils

Pune: Thousands of state board students from the city said they were relieved after the clarification from the education department regarding the postponement of both the exams.
They said their anxiety levels had reduced to a great extent. They had been confused and could not concentrate on their studies when the decision was pending.
School education minister Varsha Gaikwad’s announcement on Monday to postpone the higher secondary certificate (HSC, Std XII) and secondary school certificate (SSC, Std X) exams to May and June, respectively, has been a relief to both students and their parents.
The education department is also writing to the CBSE, CICSE, IB and Cambridge boards requesting them to reconsider their exam dates.
HSC student Sakshi Agarwal said, “We are finally clear about our future. It was indicative that the exam will not be held on the scheduled time table from April 23. But what would be the alternative or further decision about the exam was uncertain. Now that the minister has made this announcement, we are glad that we can plan our studies accordingly.”
Many HSC students also prepare for the competitive exams including joint entrance exam (JEE) for engineering, medical, law, architecture, hotel management and other professional courses which are also lined up after the board exams.
Students said they can now plan the studies for competitive exams and board exams with the state government giving a rough idea of when it would be conducted.
Gaikwad said, “Given the current Covid-19 situation in Maharashtra, we have postponed the state board exams for SSC and HSC. The present circumstances are not conducive for holding exams. Your health is our priority.”
Keeping the schedule of the entrance exams to professional courses in mind, the HSC exams will be held by the end of May, while SSC exams will be in June, it was announced by the minister.
“We are closely monitoring the health situation. Fresh dates for these exams will be announced accordingly. The decision is the outcome of consultations with various stakeholders like the students, teachers, parents, elected representatives from across parties, academicians and tech giants in the wake of rising coronavirus cases,” Gaikwad added.
During the consultations, various alternative assessment options were evaluated with the health, well-being and future of the students in mind. Postponing exams seemed to be the most pragmatic solution, she said.
Principal Sujata Rege of a civic school in Chandannagar said, “Even though most of the students were prepared for the exam with mock tests and prelim exams conducted online by submitting answer sheets to the teachers, the situation outside is very risky. It is seen that the cases of paediatric Covid is on the rise and there are many infrastructure challenges that the administration is facing. So, the decision was ideal and expected.”