Students from the Gulf reaching the State will be given an opportunity to write the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and higher secondary examinations in the State.
The students returning from the Gulf region will be given an opportunity to select an exam centre that is convenient to them, a Quality Improvement Programme monitoring committee meeting decided here on Friday. The committee was convened by Director of General Education Jeevan Babu K. through video conference. Teachers’ union representatives attended the meeting.
Steps will be taken for students, especially those studying in pre-matric hostels, sports and residential schools who returned home owing to the lockdown, to write the examinations in nearby centres.
Education department officials will ascertain through school principals and headmasters in the district if all students are in a position to appear for the examinations. This is to ensure proper facilities for them.
Adequate travel arrangements will be ensured for teachers too. If a teacher serving as deputy chief of examination in an exam centre is from outside the district, their travel arrangements too will be taken care of.
The government attempt is to conduct the remaining SSLC and higher secondary examinations between May 21 and 29 once the third phase of the lockdown is lifted on May 17 and there are no hurdles, Mr. Jeevan Babu says.
As some schools are functioning as quarantine centres, alternative arrangements will have to be made near them for students to appear for examinations. If that is not possible, the schools will have to be excluded as quarantine centres.
While valuation of papers of SSLC exams already conducted will be considered only after the lockdown, valuation of higher secondary papers will get under way on May 13 with teachers who can make it to the 94 valuation centres.
Most of the valuation centres were convenient for teachers. Those who cannot make it will keep away from the valuation. As and when travel facilities resume, teachers can join the valuation.
As teachers who are on COVID-19 duty will have to be quarantined, the meeting decided to ask District Collectors to replace high school and higher secondary teachers who are on such duty with upper and lower primary teachers. This will enable the teachers to join valuation duty at least after their quarantine period is over.
The DGE will soon issue a circular on guidelines for admissions in the new academic year.
