Priyanka Gandhi wants exams arranged in a way that does not need physical presence.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi today held educational administrative bodies like the Central Board Of Secondary Education (CBSE) "downright irresponsible" for holding exams under the prevailing circumstances. She took the stance a day after the board assured worried students of adequate safety arrangements and the observation of all Covid-19 guidelines. These concerns rise amid a disturbing revival in infections across the country.
The Class 10 exams are scheduled to be held between May 4 and June 7 and those for Class 12 would be held between May 4 and June 15, according to the revised CBSE date sheet. Over a lakh students of classes 10 and 12 had earlier signed petitions urging the government to either cancel the exams or to hold them online. The hashtag "cancelboardexams2021" has been trending on Twitter over the past few days.
In response, according to a PTI report, the CBSE said, "The number of exam centres has been increased by 40-50 per cent to ensure social distancing. The staff at exam centres is being sensitised to ensure all guidelines are followed."
Seemingly dissatisfied with the CBSE's approach, the Congress's General Secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh today posted her views on Twitter.
"It is downright irresponsible of boards like the CBSE to force students to sit for exams under the prevailing circumstances," Ms Gandhi said. "Board exams should either be cancelled, rescheduled or arranged in a manner that does not require the physical presence of children at crowded exam centres."
India today registered a record single-day spike of 1.31 lakh new Covic-19 cases, pushing its infection tally to 1,30,60,542, the Union Health Ministry's data updated today showed. The number of deaths in the past 24 hours touched 780, taking the overall figure to 1,67,642.