Assam class X, XII boards set to be held between August 1-15 – Times of India

State education minister Ranoj Pegu chaired a high-level meeting with various stakeholders at the Assam secretariat on Tuesday where it was decided to skip the conventional mode of examination due to the pandemic situation. “If we need to complete the examination process by September 5 and wait till the end of July, the window period for conducting the exams is between August 1 to August 15. I can only give a clear indication that the exams will be held during this period,” Pegu said. He added that the modalities and timetable will be published soon. The Government of India has insisted on completing the entire exam process by September 5 to prevent any academic loss of students.

An official declaration in this regard will come within the next 10 days, he said. Chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s opinion is also going to be crucial before the final announcement is made.

“The state board exams won’t be held as per a conventional routine like in the past. These will be held for fewer subjects and the total marks of the papers may get curtailed. The decision-making process has reached a final stage and we will declare the final decision within the next 10 days,” Pegu told the media after the meeting with senior government officials, representatives of the student bodies, and teachers’ organizations. The Deputy Commissioner of Kamrup (Metropolitan) district and a few nearby districts also attended the meeting.

The minister informed that though the state health department has apprised them that the Covid situation will improve in July, it won’t be a convenient time to conduct the boards due to the threat of virus infection that is likely to persist for a few more weeks.

Even though the students may not be able to appear in all the subjects, the proposal from the stakeholders is to allot marks in the subjects to be left out, only based on the performance in the papers answered by an examinee.

Vaccination of most of class X and XII board examinees will not be possible because of their below 18 age group but Pegu said whoever comes under the 18-44 category, as per documentary evidence, will be inoculated at the earliest. “Starting from the exam invigilators, everyone involved with the exam process and are above 18 will be vaccinated on a priority basis. The drivers and other people of the vehicles to be used for the exams will also be vaccinated,” Pegu said. “ICMR has not yet recommended vaccines for the below 18 age group and that’s why we are extremely cautious,” he added.

The All Assam Students’ Union (Aasu), one of the major participants of the meeting, demanded the government to intimate the modalities of the exams and revised the normalisation formula to be adopted for conducting the exams. “This is an unusual situation. We appeal to the government to conduct the board exams in a simplified manner. The interests of the students must be safeguarded,” Aasu chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharyya said.

Speculations have been made that the exams may be held for three subjects through an offline mode. The meeting however could not conclude the matter. Aasu and All Bodo Students’ Union delegations will again meet Board of Secondary Education, Assam, and Assam Higher Secondary Education Council officials in the next few days to resolve some pending issues.