It seems that a final decision regarding the fate of Class 10 and Class 12 board exams in the state of West Bengal will be affected by evident dissent coming from the student community. While a decision regarding the board exams in the state is expected to be announced by June 07, 2021, now, the microblogging site Twitter is flooded with demands for the cancellation of the exams. Posts adorning the hashtag #Cancelwbboardexam2021 is already gaining momentum as the students await a final decision from the government.
As per earlier reports, the Chief Minister of West Bengal Smt Mamata Banerjee has declared that the Class 10 board exams of the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education will be tentatively held in July, 2021 while the Class 12 board exams of the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education will be tentatively held in mid-August 2021. However, it seems that the students registered for appearing in the board exams want the government to cancel the exam in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One user posted that “West Bengal Govt. shouldn’t waste any more time and announce cancellation of board exams within 24 hours. Taking so much time is only extending suffering of the students“. On the other hand, another user has indicated that most states have already scrapped the Class 12 board exams. Thus, the WB state government must hurry up to take a final decision regarding the exams now.
It may be noted that the state government cancelled a press conference earlier where a decision regarding the exams was expected. A decision was due on Wednesday through the press conference although as per reports, it was cancelled by authorities without citing any reason. Instead, another official of the state education department was quoted saying that an expert committee has been formed to review the situations and decide on the fate of the exams. A final decision from the state government is now awaited on June 07, 2021, i.e. coming Monday.
As per the latest reports, more than 12 lakh and 8 lakh candidates are reportedly registered for appearing in Class 10 and Class 12 board exams in the state this year. However, irrespective of what decision is taken by the government on Monday, the student community is now clearly against holding the exams amidst the pandemic. West Bengal is one such state which is yet to decide on the fate of the board exams this year. On the other hand, various other states have already cancelled board exams following in the footsteps of the Central Board of Secondary Education and other national education boards.
