TN announces Class 10 exams amid COVID spike, draws teachers' ire

Despite the rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in Tamil Nadu, the state government’s announcement about the start of Class 10 board exams from June 1 has created a huge furore in the state. Teachers and activists have criticised the state government for its urgency to conduct the exam.

The state school education minister KA Sengottaiyan on May 12 said the Class 10 board exams that had been postponed due to the COVID-19 lockdown would be held between June 1 and June 12. Following the announcement, teachers and activists alleged that the government had a hidden agenda and the time table was market-driven and not based on the welfare of students.

“The time table was released days after the Tamil Nadu Nursery Primary Matriculation Higher Secondary and CBSE Schools’ Association sought the Chief Minister’s permission to open schools and collect the pending dues for the last term,” said a Class 10 teacher in Western Tamil Nadu.

The letter was submitted on May 7 and the time table for the Class 10 board exams has been released within five days. “No private schools have functioned in the State since March 20. Though we have passed all students from Class 1 to Class 9, documents for the same were not prepared,” said KR Nandakumar, state general secretary of the association, in the letter submitted to the Chief Minister.

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“Third term pending fees were also not paid. Since annual examination did not happen and as we did not collect the third term fees, there is a problem in dispensing salary to the teachers,” he had written to the Chief Minister.

Quoting several incidents where state governments and courts had allowed schools to collect fees, Nandakumar said, “If we delay further, parents would spend the money on unnecessary things and it would become a burden to them. Since parents are voluntarily asking school administrations to allow them to pay the fees, we request you to grant permission to collect the pending dues,” Nandhakumar had said in the letter.

However, educationalist Prince Gajendrababu criticized the decision stating that the timetable was prepared not for the welfare of the students but for the welfare of the private institutions. “There is no need to hurry up and conduct the exam soon. We have enough time and we can adjust the next academic year accordingly,” he said.

“The government is in a hurry to conduct the exam only to open the schools and collect the fees. Only if they complete the Class 12 exams, private colleges can sell applications to students,” Gajendrababu said.

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On the other hand, teachers are sceptical about making arrangements for students as well as for themselves ahead of the exams. K Suresh, a government school teacher in Madurai calls the time table a complete mess. Even before the exams for Class 10 have begun and those for Classes 11 and 12 have not ended, teachers have been asked to report for the evaluation of Class 12 papers on May 27, he said.

“If most of the teachers go for paper evaluation, we do not know who will conduct the exams. Also, we do not know how to manage the children and ask them to maintain physical distancing,” said Suresh.

He is also worried about the transportation of the students from the rural parts of the state. “Since most of the schools in the rural Tamil Nadu are not examination centres, they will have to travel to their respective centres by means of public transportation. Even if the government makes necessary transportation arrangements, we do not know who will ensure physical distancing among the students,” Suresh said.

On Wednesday (May 13), Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami assured that transportation facilities for the Class 10 students would be arranged and asked concerned Collectors to make necessary arrangements in their districts.

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But, Gajendrababu is more concerned about the timings. “If students have to line up to get into the bus to maintain physical distancing, they have to reach the bus stand at least by 8 am. So, they will have to get ready for it from 7 am. After completing their exams, they will can come back only by 2 pm. If they complete their breakfast by 7 am, will the students have to be hungry till 2 pm,” he asked.

He suggested that at least 15 days of pre-exam class must be held for the students to get back to the routine. “It’s been more than two months and we have to consider the psychological and emotional conditions of the students. Since farming is allowed, a lot of students might have been engaged in agricultural activities. So, we would not know how many of them would turn for the exam directly,” he said.

“Also, after months, students would have a lot of things to share among them, so to drain these things, at least a 15 days class should be conducted,” he suggested.

Despite a number of attempts, Sengottaiyan and school education secretary Dheeraj Kumar were not available for comments.