Bhubaneswar: The decision to postpone the Annual Board Examinations in the state has come as a big relief for both the students, parents and teachers in the state. Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took the decision yesterday and announced the postponement of exams in view of the rising cases of Covid-19. While the Central Board of Secondary Education announced its decision on Wednesday to cancel the 10th exams and postpone the 12th until 1st June, the students and parents in Odisha had been waiting eagerly for the state government’s decision regarding this. The CM’s decision yesterday has added succor to the thousands of families whose children are going to sit in the crucial examinations.
Keeping in view the changing Covid-19 scenario and its severity and taking into account the health and safety of students, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik made this big announcement after reviewing the situation. The most important Matriculation Examinations were to start on the 3rd of May 2021. The state government will make a review of the situation in the first week of June and take further steps.
Meanwhile, the steps taken by the Government have received wide appreciation from the teachers, parents and students. They have welcomed the decision to postpone the 10th and 12th exams in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to Rama Podiami, father of a Matriculation student from Malkangiri, “the government has taken the right decision by postponing the exams. We were very much worried for our child as the number of Covid-19 cases is rising day by day. By this, the government has shown that it cares for the safety and health of the students.” For D Sujata Dora, a teacher cum mother whose daughter was to write the matriculation exams this year, “I was worried a lot for my daughter. Educational institutions have reported a large number of infections. We have elder people at home. Thank god that the state government postponed the exams. The government has taken a tremendous step by according top priority to the safety of children.”The same views were shared by Jitendra Kumar Nayak of Chirikipoda Sasana in Ganjam. He says “our child is now studying through online mode. He has completed the course and now he is revising his curriculum. We kept our fingers crossed till yesterday as the number of infections was rising. But the government decision came as a big relief for us. The government should try to find a solution for examinations through online and previous results. We are totally with the government in its efforts to safeguard the health of our children.”
The teaching fraternity is also happy for the decision taken by the government. According to Radhakanta Dash, a teacher of Mujagada High School, the government has taken the best practical step keeping in view the situation. The Covid situation along with the rising temperature was a problem for us. But we are prepared for any eventuality. For another headmaster who did not like to be named, “we were thinking about such a decision by the government for the last few days as the number of Covid cases is rising. The Matriculation examinations are crucial. But we have to look for the safety of our students. In the last one year there have been good experiments with online classes and evaluation. In my opinion, the government of Odisha should evaluate the students digitally and taking into account the internal performance.”
Health specialists have also welcomed the decision of the government to postpone the examinations in the state. According to Dr Sunil Agarwal, a famous pediatrician from Berhampur, The situation in the state warranted such a decision by the government. The second wave of Covid is not like last year. It is more infectious and we should take all possible precautions. Writing examinations in schools would have been disastrous for the children as there is every chance of getting infected. Though the young children were at risk of getting infected, they would also have been the carriers of the virus by which their family members would have been infected.
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