Mumbai: Despite repeated appeals from students to cancel Class 12 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board offline examinations in view of Covid-19 risks, the Maharashtra state school education department has not provided any clarity yet. Students have been repeatedly posting their demands on social media platforms with #cancel12thboardexams2021 trending almost daily in the past week.
As of now, the department has postponed the Class 12 HSC board exams to May-end. Students said it is already May and we need clarity on whether our exams will be postponed again, cancelled or conducted via online method. In addition, students have also suggested the state board to devise an internal assessment marking policy and cancel HSC board exams to avoid any further delay.
Simran Joshi, a Class 12 HSC board student said, "I have not been able to sleep for the last seven days because I am stressed out whether my board exams will be conducted this month via offline mode. It is just adding to the stress and anxiety because every day I am reading about people dying and being hospitalised due to Covid-19."
Waqi Ur Rehman, another student said, "The state school education department should provide some clarity. Some of us have not even received our exam hall tickets. We are not against online exams but postponing exams again will adversely affect students and delay the entire academic year."
Another student on request of anonymity said, "The government cannot wake up just few days before and tell us that our exams will be conducted via online or offline mode. Are we supposed to keep studying while waiting every day for some clarity? Is it even possible to conduct Class 12 board exams completely via online mode?"
On the other hand, the state school education department has not provided any information on cancellation, postponement or devising a marking policy for Class 12 HSC board exams yet.
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