Tag: GSHSEB exams

AHMEDABAD: Even with the rising numbers of Covid-19 cases in Gujarat, the state education department has decided to pursue its plans to conduct monthly exams in person for Classes 9 to 12 from March 19.

In a notification issued on March 17, the Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) stated that the exams will be conducted from March 19 to March 27 for Classes 9 to 12 as scheduled.

“Monthly exams are necessary for periodic assessment of students and their promotion to the next class,” the notification states.

Students in containment zones or for schools that fall in such zones, exams will be conducted later, whenever the situation normalizes, it added.

The decision to conduct exams when Covid-19 cases have risen sharply in the state caused an uproar among parents. Exams will be conducted in pen-and-paper format and students will have to go to their schools.

The state education department released figures of government school attendance, according to which many districts are witnessing 80% to 90% attendance. This has caused further concerns about social distancing and risk to the health of students, especially while medical colleges in Ahmedabad have begun partially closing on-campus studies after four first-year MBBS students tested positive for Covid recently.

Navsari, with 90.30% school attendance, is at the top of the list. Such levels of attendance may pose grave risk to the health of students if exams are conducted, said an expert in the education sector. Ahmedabad has been seeing 70% attendance while Dangs ranks among the lowest with 60% of students going to school, government data shows. The average attendance across the state, it claims has been 74.22%

In Surat, 37 new cases were reported from schools and colleges earlier this week. This has become a major concern for parents who are reluctant to send their wards to school.

Due to the rising number of Covid-19 cases, the government on Wednesday ordered the closure of all gardens and parks in Ahmedabad.

Earlier this week, the government imposed night curfew in the four major cities of the state – Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat and Rajkot — between 10pm and 6am.