The Union HRD Ministry and educational boards including the UGC have taken measures to restrict the examinees and examiners in the current spate of corona scare across the country. While HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank announced for launch of e-classes on Swayam Prabha DTH channels for school students in view of coronavirus outbreak, CBSE and ICSE announced to postpone the remaining examinations of higher and school education systems across the nation.
While the university regulator directed all universities and affiliated colleges to postpone examinations till March-end, the Joint Entrance Exam (JEE-Main) for admission to IITs and engineering colleges too stand postponed according to the HRD Ministry's National Testing Agency (NTA) directives.
The Staff Selection Commission (SSC) too postponed its key recruitment examinations as a preventive measure to check the spread of novel coronavirus.
UGC in a directive said the evaluation works too will be suspended during the period too.
"All universities and affiliated colleges should postpone exams till March 31 and suspend evaluation work. Further schedule should be decided following a review of the situation," the commission said in an order.
The Joint Entrance Exam (JEE-Main) for admission to IITs and engineering colleges scheduled from April 5-11 has been postponed and the new date will be decided in accordance with the board exams schedule and other competitive exams to ensure there is no clash. The CBSE and ICSE board postponed class 10 and 12 examinations due to the novel coronavirus threat as was certain changes in evaluation policy.
"Marking of answer scripts should take place at the residences of examiners during the allocated time period.
Ahead of that, on day one, the chief examiner/co chief examiner/ examiner coordinator of an evaluation centre will meet all the examiners for a short time to discuss the marking scheme, give necessary instructions and to hand over the boxes containing the answer scripts to them," said Gerry Arathoon, Chief Executive and Secretary, CISCE.
Central Board of Secondary Education too postponed ongoing class 10, 12 examinations till March 31 in view of the coronavirus outbreak. "All ongoing CBSE examinations in India and abroad postponed till March 31 and will be rescheduled thereafter... After an assessment of the situation," CBSE Secretary Anurag Tripathi said. "All ongoing evaluation work will be suspended during the period," he added.
The HRD Ministry has announced e-classes on Swayam Prabha DTH channels for school students in view of coronavirus outbreak. "Dear Students, to make sure that you stay connected with your studies even when you are away from school, we are soon launching e-classes on SWAYAM Prabha DTH channels, full of school education content aligned with your ongoing syllabus," Nishank said in a statement.
"Time-slots of 4 hours daily has been approved on Swayam Prabha DTH channels for selected states. Since you are missing school due to COVID-19, we urge you to make the most of this time & stay connected with your studies. We are taking this on priority (sic)," he added.
The JNU administration "appealed to all concerned" to refrain from disrupting the varsity's efforts to install CCTVs on the campus including hostels in wake of coronavirus outbreak. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) has been opposed to the installation of closed circuit television cameras saying it impinges on the privacy of students in hostels.
The JNU administration condemns the "violent prevention" of installation of CCTVS at critical points, particularly the main entrance gate of the hostels, the varsity's Registrar Pramod Kumar said. Citing the threat to life posed by the current coronavirus pandemic, he stressed it is all the more necessary to guard against unauthorised outsiders entering the campus, including hostel premises.