A swimming test being organised by the District Sports Council as part of Plus One admissions has been cancelled in view of the increasing COVID-19 test positivity rate in Kozhikode district.
The Sports Council had suspended the test earlier this week until Sunday as a large number of students had turned up for the test at a swimming pool at East Nadakkavu in the city. District Collector N. Tej Lohit Reddy said he had received complaints of more than 500 students reporting for the test at a swimming pool in the city in clear violation of the COVID-19 protocol.
The State government’s directive to the District Sports Council to conduct swimming tests and issue certificates to students who seek admission to Plus One courses had drawn flak from teachers’ organisations earlier. Students producing swimming skills certificates are given two bonus points during the admission. The practice of submitting the certificate began after the Thattekad boat tragedy in which 15 students and three teachers died.
The Kerala Aided Higher Secondary Teachers’ Association had warned that conducting the event at a single venue in the district could lead to overcrowding, thus violating the pandemic protocol. It was not safe to ask students to swim together in a pool as it would increase the risk of infection, they said. The association had suggested decentralising the swimming test and holding it in various towns other than the district capital.
However, the District Sports Council had claimed that all guidelines were being followed while conducting the test. The District Collector has asked the Sports Council to issue certificates based on documents available with the students or based on available information instead of holding the test.
