SSC preliminary exam schedule goes for a toss with school closures

As per orders issued by the district administration on Sunday, schools and colleges in Pune district will be closed till March 14.

This closure has disturbed the schedule of the preliminary SSC, Class 10, board examinations.

The schools and colleges in the district have been closed since February 22.

The restrictions are necessary in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the district administration stated.

“There are 800 schools from the city and rural parts affiliated to the Pune District Mukhyadhyapak Sangh. These schools use question papers issued by Mukhyadhyapak Sangh. We had planned to conduct preliminary examinations for Class 10 from March 1. Now that the schools will be closed, we will have to reschedule,” said Harishchandra Gaikwad, president, Pune district Mukhyadhyapak Sangh (Headmaster’s association).

“It is not feasible to conduct these exams online. Writing practice for the students is important,” added Gaikwad.

The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary & Higher Secondary Education has declared the detailed time- table of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations. The SSC exams are to be held between April 29 and May 20 and schools had planned the preliminary examinations accordingly.

The preliminary examinations are considered as the final practice for the board examinations. This year, when most of the teaching has been conducted online, preliminary examinations has become important for students in terms of writing practice.

“Throughout the year we have had online exams and most of them were multiple choice questions (MCQs). Prelims are necessary in order to get the experience before the board examination. Our prelims were scheduled to begin from March 8, but now schools will be closed I am not sure what the plan will be. When writing exams at home there are disturbances and manipulations. It’s a very different scenario from the board exam,” said Arya Dhanawade, an SSC student of the Rosary School in Warje.

As the schools will remain closed till March 14, now schools are contemplating ways to conduct this examination. “Our syllabus is almost complete. Revision of some subjects is going on. We had planned a preliminary examination about March 15. If schools do not open by then, then it will be a problem. We have been conducting online classes, but the problem is, not all the students join in”, said Prachi Gumaste headmistress, Nutan Marathi Vidyalay.

“We will begin the prelims from March 1, as per schedule, but we will conduct it online,” said Fr Rajesh Bansode, St Joseph’s School in Ghorpadi.

“Luckily we completed the written preliminary examination for Class 10 on campus before schools closed from February 22. During the process of this test students realised which points and skills they need to work on. We have resumed online classes for Class 10 students. We don’t want them to be on their own during these uncertain times. We want students to get back into the academic routine again,” said Pallavi Naik, principal, Kalmadi high school.