The sudden announcement by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami that students of Classes 9, 10 and 11 [State board] have been declared “promoted” without any examinations this academic year has taken teachers and students by surprise.
Only a week ago, School Education Minister K.A. Sengottaiyan said the Class 10 board exam dates would be announced soon. In all State board schools, nominal rolls of students writing the Class 10, 11 and 12 public exams were prepared.
Unnecessary decision
“Schools reopened [for physical classes] only a month ago and this sudden announcement is sure to impact the learning and seriousness of the students towards academics. We feel this decision was unnecessary. We are going to meet Education Department officials to allow us to conduct at least school-level model exams,” said K.R. Nandhakumar, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu Matriculation, Higher Secondary and CBSE Schools Association.
While guidelines on how marks will be awarded are expected from the School Education Department, there are concerns in government schools on how this will apply to them. Private schools have been proceeding with the academic year through online classes.
“A majority of government schools, especially those in rural areas have not been able to conduct online classes, let alone any form of evaluation. For students who are opting to shift to polytechnic or ITI courses after Class 10, a marks certificate is extremely important,” said Patric Raymond, secretary, Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers’ Federation.
Mr. Patric emphasised the need to at least conduct school-level exams.
“Cancelling exams for Classes 9 and 11 would have been okay. But Class 10 students having no boards will raise concerns. Students shifting to another State might face challenges with admissions. The option of conducting exams with limited portions for students of Class 10 could have been explored,” felt N. Vijayan, correspondent, Zion Matriculation School.
Most schools, however, want classes to continue on campus for Classes 9, 10 and 11. “It is only now that students have returned and are able to concentrate to some extent. If classes stop for them, it will be a challenging transition to the next academic year,” a teacher said.
