A committee constituted to find ways to assess the Bengal board's Class XII students has more or less agreed that holding exams on campus amid the raging Covid pandemic is out of the question.
The members of the committee also said an evaluation on digital platforms would put many from marginalised sections in trouble because of a wide digital gap among students.
The committee’s report, to be sent to the government on Saturday, will contain a number of suggestions on assessment. “While finalising the suggestions we have taken into consideration the fact that a large number of students are from underprivileged sections,” a member of the committee said.
The committee comprising experts from various fields was set up on Wednesday. It met for the third time on Friday.
Once the report is submitted on Saturday, school education minister Bratya Basu is likely to announce the way forward, said an official of the department.
Several members of the committee are against holding the school-leaving exams on campus because that would amount to exposing around 10 lakh students to infection.
A member of the committee said a number of students and teachers had tested positive in February, when schools had reopened for students of Classes IX to XII and the HS practical exams were being held. That led to the closure of several institutions.
“Since the second wave is under way, sending students to school to write the test would not be advisable,” said a member.
Sources said the committee had deliberated on and rejected a proposal to hold the exams on digital platforms. A member of the committee said on Friday they did not find the idea feasible because of the digital divide among the students.
“A large number of students study in remote places where connectivity is extremely weak. Even if you provide them funds to buy tabs, they won’t get a good network. We also have to keep in mind that last week’s cyclone had washed away a large number of houses,” he said.
“We don’t think that our school students are so tech savvy that they can write the test on digital platforms,” said gastroenterologist G.K. Dhali, a member of the committee. Another member said they could not submit the report on Friday as they were still in search of a “feasible middle path”.
“A final round of deliberations will be held before we submit the report on Friday. We have to find an option that is inclusive,” he said.
According to him, what is coming in the way is the fact that schools have a minuscule record of the performance of the Class XII students in internal assessment.
“Schools have only tested them in practicals (for lab-based subjects) and projects (for non-lab- based subjects) when the campus reopened in February. This record is not adequate to assess students. The Supreme Court on Thursday set a two-week deadline for the Centre to come up with a ‘well-defined objective criteria’ for the assessment of Class XII students of CBSE and the ICSE council following the cancellation of their examinations. So we too have an uphill task,” a committee member said.
