Haryana Board of Secondary Education (HBSE) is prepared to conduct the Class 12 board exams in the respective schools of students for a shorter duration. The Education Minister of Haryana, Kanwar Pal, stated that the board is planning on conducting the Class 12 exams from June 15 to 20, 2021. Mr Pal also commentated that cancelling the board exams may prove detrimental for the academics of students, adding to their stress. Acknowledging this, the board has decided to conduct the exams by following all the COVID-19 guidelines.
According to Mr Pal, there shall be a change this year in the way exam centres are allotted to Class 12 students. Till last year, students had to give their exams in other schools. However, this year, due to the COVID-19 situation, they shall appear for the Class 12 board exams at their respective schools., sources state. Furthermore, a provision for re-examination shall be given to candidates who are affected by COVID19 during the exam schedule. HBSE shall notify the re-examination dates later.
Mr. Ramesh Pokhriyal announced, during the high-level meeting on Sunday, May 23, 2021, provided two alternatives to states. The first alternative was to conduct fewer exams. In this case, exams only for 19 major subjects shall be conducted. The second alternative is to change the paper pattern of board exams. Instead of subjective questions, objective-type questions shall be asked in the paper. The Union Ministry left it to the states to take a final call between the two proposed options.
HBSE issued an official statement announcing that the education board and the Haryana state government has decided to go ahead with the second option. Therefore, Class 12 board exams shall contain objective-type questions. Furthermore, the duration of board exams shall be of one and a half hours. Moreover, students shall be appearing for the exams in their own schools. The official revised date sheet shall be released 15 days prior to the commencement of exams. This is to ensure that candidates can get enough time to prepare for the exams.
Apart from informing about the pattern of Class 12 exams, the Haryana education minister also suggested vaccinating the teachers assigned for invigilating duty. It is important for these teachers to get vaccinated before deputing them to various exam centres.
The Union Ministry asked all states and UTs to provide detailed reports on their proposal to conduct the Class 12 board exams on or before May 25, 2021. In their reports to the centre, as many as 32 states and UTs have supported the CBSE’s intention of conducting the Class 12 board exams. Only Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa and, Andaman and Nicobar have opposed the centre’s decision of conducting pen-and-paper exams amid the pandemic, as per reports.
