Telangana takes cue from Centre on holding board exams

Hyderabad: The Telangana State government is not in a hurry to decide the schedule of Secondary School Certificate (SSC 2021) examinations anywhere before April 2021. On Tuesday, the Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal said that the CBSE board examinations for Classes X and XII would not be held before March 2021.

It was a similar view prevailing in the State government. According to Telangana State School Education Department (TSSED) sources, "The State government has a similar view. It is not in a hurry to decide the schedule of the SSC-2021 examinations. Speaking to The Hans India, a senior TSSED official reminded that the schedule of SSC-2020 examinations was slotted from June 8- July 5, 2020. However, the same had been postponed in the wake of the directions of the Telangana High Court.

Adding, delay in the SSC-2021 schedule this time is, "The CBSE and ICSE have allowed their schools to start the online classes much before March 2020. However, in the case of government schools in Telangana, the online classes got delayed by four months."

The schools are in no position to complete the entire syllabus by the end of March 2021. This is, even after trimming down it by 30 percent of the syllabus. Therefore, it is unlikely that Class X examinations will be held anytime before April-May, 2021. The government has not taken any decision yet. But these are the factors considered by the school education departments that come in the way of finalising the SSC-2021 schedule.

Meanwhile, parents are expressing reservations over the conduct of examinations offline. A Hyderabad Schools Parents' Association(HSPA) member Ramana Jetti, said "students of many government schools are from the underprivileged sections. They have no access to online classes. Facing SSC examinations will be challenging for them."

He expressed doubt as to how many students attending online classes in private schools are grasping from a class. "Nearly, 70 per cent of students are inactive during online classes. Few government schools are conducting classes, and the rest are lagging"

Akash Kumar, a 10th-grade student of Sri Chaitanya Techno School, said, "Although syllabus was reduced by the government, students are facing many problems in online classes. Not every student has access to computers, smartphones and internet connection and teachers face technical glitches as well. So, how are we expected to give examinations by March/April?"

Against this backdrop, both the students as well as parents are against the offline conduct of examinations. Murali Radha, another member of HSPA pointed out that health is the priority for parents. "If the government decides to hold examinations offline, then, it should notify the precautions to be taken. And, stringent norms to ensure the safety of their wards during examinations."