Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) shall take a final call on Class 10 and 12 state board exams 2021 after April 30, 2021. A senior state official clarified the same on Tuesday, April 28, 2021. Previously, the state board exams were scheduled to begin on April 24, 2021. However, the state government issued an order on April 21, 2021, announcing the postponement of exams to a later date. The postponement decision was taken due to the rising COVID-19 cases in the country.
GBSHSE Chairperson, Bhagirath Shetye, shed light on the issue by stating that the government is closely observing the COVID-19 situation in the state after postponing the Class 10 and 12 board exams. The new schedule shall be decided after April 30, 2021, after looking at the coronavirus situation. Abiding by the government guidelines, new dates shall be announced 15 days prior to the commencement of board exams.
Narayan Desai, the former school principal and educationist in Goa, stated that there was no alternative left with the government except to postpone the exams. However, a constant back-and-forth between offline and online education along with other hybrid education modes is taking a serious toll on students.
Founder and Director of Tritya Group of Institutions, Captain Amardeep, also commented on the postponement of exams. According to him, the postponement was justified and thoughtful. However, this move may hamper the academics of students who are preparing for various competitive exams and are applying for admission to universities abroad.
Recently, the Directorate of Education (DoE) announced the closure of schools in the Union Territory of Goa up to April 30, 2021. A circular regarding this was issued on April 23, 2021 stating the suspension of offline or physical classes in Goa. However, the teaching and non-teaching staff shall continue to attend school as per usual. The DoE’s order was issued to all primary, middle, and higher secondary government, both aided and unaided schools.
Meanwhile, various state education departments have decided to prepone summer vacations amid rising COVID-19 cases in the country. Summer holidays have been preponed in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Haryana.
Usually, summer vacations begin in the month of May and continue till the first or second week of June. However, the second wave of coronavirus in India is forcing governments to prepone summer vacations to April 2021. Moreover, various restrictions and curbs have been imposed in the respective states to curb the virus spread and safeguard the health of children.
