Telangana Inter board draws flak for 1st year exams

Hyderabad: "THE Education Minister had now permitted the Inter board to hold the intermediate public examinations from October 25, 2021 for regular first year students for the academic year 2020-21, who are now studying second year," said a recent statement from the board. However, the untimely move to hold first year examinations when students are busy with their second year coursework, received widespread criticism from the students, parents and even teachers.

Opposing this move, an online petition was filed by Varun Rao stating, "cancel Telangana inter first year exams, Covid is not over yet." The petition received widespread acknowledgement and at present is signed by over 28,000 people.

The viral petition goes on to say: "During this pandemic, conducting inter first year exams is a bad move. The health of the students and their families is at stake. The Telangana government is letting a piece of paper decide the health and wellbeing of more than 4 lakh students and their families. If the government decides to conduct the offline inter first year exams, they should take complete responsibility for the health of each and every student including their families."

Kamalakar, an intermediate student, feels, "We were in full swing in completing our second-year syllabus after government said that they are going to promote us. Now, the government is asking us to write exams. The exams were cancelled, and we were promoted to second year due to the Covid pandemic. The Covid situation has not improved much and there is the threat of third wave. But the government wants us to write exams".

The examination board which earlier promoted the first-year students directly to second year without examination, citing the pandemic, had asked them to appear for the exams.

"Going by the online petition, it is a bit over exaggerated to say, but the board is equally responsible for the criticism. There is a significant amount of risk involved to write exams offline as there are many of us who have not even taken the first dose of vaccine. Conducting exams when there is not a great need in the present circumstance is useless in my view," says Arun Kumar, a student from Khammam.

"There is risk to conduct exams now for sure, and there is other view which sees a perspective of 'if not exams then what?'. Numerous opinions and ideas from different persons arrive when asked to comment. But the point which many need to discuss is 'what do students want?' Again, many would make fine noise on the statement, but good or bad why not let them decide what they want," says Karimullah, a professor from Nizambad.