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Teacher’s body questions state decision to conduct oral exams for Class IX, XI students

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Cites health concerns, lack of digital access among students

Mumbai: The Mumbai Bharatiya Janata Party’s teacher’s cell has objected to Maharashtra government order to promote students of Std IX and XI, only on the basis of oral examination. In a letter, the teacher’s wing stated that asking students to visit schools to give oral examinations was putting them at health risk of contracting Covid-19. It also opposed the second option offered by state to conduct oral exams through Video Conferencing (VC) citing lack of digital access among students.

Head of the Mumbai BJP’s Teachers Council Anil Bornare questioned this procedure by citing lack of access of students to mobile or internet network to take oral exams on VC. The cell recommended that students of Class IX and XII be promoted like other students from Class I – VIII. “The state’s own survey has revealed that about half the students don’t have access to digital education, then why this insistence on oral exams?” he asked.

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As per a survey by the Maharashtra State Council for Education, Research and Training (MSCERT), only 59.8% of state students had access to smartphones with internet to access digital education. The survey also found that a negligible 0.8% of students had access to desktops or laptops, while about 17% of students in Maharashtra had absolutely no access to any form of devices. Again, while 90% of students had access to phones and electricity, these phones were not smartphones and hence not useful to access digital education.

Earlier, the state would conduct supplementary exams for Std IX, who fail to clear their exams around July at the beginning of next academic year, to help students clear exams and avoid wasting an academic year. But, with conducting of exams becoming an issue due to the pandemic, this year students are not being offered that option. Bornare also wondered how teachers would travel to schools in the absence of access to public transport to them as they aren’t yet identified as essential workforce by the state. He also questioned the health concerns of teachers since many schools continued to function as Covid care quarantine centres.  

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