Coronavirus outbreak: Schools struggling to devise ways to promote students to next class

Amid the shutdown in the wake of COVID-19 outbreak, schools in Delhi-NCR have been struggling to devise ways to promote their students to higher classes in times when conducting examinations is no longer an option.

While most schools with the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) affiliation have already finished with their annual examinations, it is the bulk of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) schools which have been constrained from conducting the examinations in view of the government’s decision to keep all schools closed till March 31.

Some of these schools have decided not to conduct the examination and instead promote students on the basis of the average of marks secured in exams conducted through the year.

Nidhi Garg whose son is a student of class 3 in the Nehru International School, Noida, said, “We got a message from the school that examination of my ward have been cancelled and the school has promoted him on the basis of year’s performance.”

Her son was yet to take the exam for Maths and the EVS. However, for her daughter who is a student of class 8 in the same school, no communication was made regarding the future of examination. Yet another school in Noida, Somerville International, also announced cancellation of exams for some of its classes.

A message sent by the school to the parents reads, “... as a result of the spread of Novel Covid-19, it has been decided to cancel the remaining papers of the final examinations of Classes IV-VIII.”

“The results of the concerned papers will be on the basis of the marks obtained by the student in the mid term exams and the internal assessments 2019-2020,” the school added in the message.

While some other schools are yet to decide on the examinations, others have also used electronic medium to substitute for annual examinations.

The Blue Bells International, in South Delhi, has decided to send in worksheets and assignments for students to work from home and evaluate performances.

However, parents of children from other schools such as the Delhi Public School (DPS) said they were yet to be contacted by the school.

“We have received no information regarding the annual examination so far and the holidays continue. But, I hope keeping in view the safety of children, the school finds a mid way out,” Prashant Sachdeva whose son studies in class 2 of the DPS, Gautam Buddha Nagar Branch said.

The situation, however, is different in the ICSE schools where the annual examination was already concluded by the time virus outbreak became epidemic in Delhi and nearby areas.

The Delhi government on March 12 declared coronavirus as an epidemic with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announcing that all cinema halls, schools and colleges will remain shut till March 31 to check the spread of the virus.

“We are continuing the ongoing measures to check the spread of coronavirus in Delhi. Along with that, we have decided to close all the cinema halls and schools which are not having examination till March 31,” Kejriwal had told the media.