Gautam Budh Nagar: Pre-board exams can be online or offline, parents consensus must

NOIDA: Amid the confusion about how children will take their final exams in March, the district inspector of schools (DIOS), Gautam Budh Nagar, has said the tests can be online or offline but there should be consensus among parents. In case a school holds physical examination, all Covid protocols and safeguards have to be ensured.
With many schools planning to hold the final examinations for classes 9 and 11 (pre-boards) by the end of February, the DIOS has asked the institutions to first check with the parents and decide on the basis of majority opinion.The final examinations for junior classes (till 8) are mostly scheduled in March.

“Schools will have to get the parents on board about whichever format they want to go with. The government of Uttar Pradesh had relaxed the regulations for schools in an order issued earlier this month, asking them to hold five-hour sessions for classes 9, 10, 11 and 12. For the examinations, the schools have a choice, but nothing should be enforced without getting the parents on board,” Dharam Vir Singh, DIOS, Gautam Budh Nagar, said.
Singh said parents from some schools have already approached him about offline examinations being announced for classes 9 and 11. Some parents whose children are in Kothari International School, Noida, have approached the DIOS stating that they want online examinations.
“We have given the parents of our class 11 students an option. Students will be allowed to take both offline and online tests. Examination has a value of its own and it is a check-post for children who will be appearing for board examination. For junior classes, the final examinations will be held online since the entire year’s curriculum was taught online,” Manju Gupta, principal, Kothari International School, said.
“All final examinations at Amity International will be held online this year, except for the board examinations for which the students will appear in person,” the principal of Amity International School, Renu Singh, said.
According to the education department, all schools that are opening for children will have to follow all Covid protocols strictly.
“Campuses have to be sanitised, students should enter and exit in single lines with social distancing norms in place, thermal screening will have to be introduced, lunch breaks need to be monitored by teachers and wash rooms are to be sparingly used and frequently sanitised. An entire list of guidelines has been provided to the schools,” Singh added.
Asked about the development, Shivani Jain, president, All School Parents Association (ASPA), said: “Schools should only logically consider online examinations this year because offline examination now is highly difficult. For the entire year, students studied online, and previous examinations were also online.”