Jana Sena Party president Pawan Kalyan on Tuesday found fault with the government’s decision to go ahead and conduct the SSC (class 10) board examinations as per schedule.
In a statement, he said the “irresponsible” decision would put the lives of lakhs of students and their families to risk at a time when there was a sharp spike in the COVID-19 cases.
Pointing out that the CBSE too had cancelled its examinations, he urged the government to cancel both the SSC and Intermediate examinations and promote the students to the next level.
Stating that the students and teachers in schools, welfare hostels, junior colleges and private coaching centres were at risk of contracting the virus, he said the medical experts had been warning that the second wave was more dangerous than the first.
He said the decision would put the health of nearly 16.5 lakh people (6.4 lakh SSC students and 10.5 lakh Intermediate students) in jeopardy. “Moreover, who will take the responsibility for the health of the older people and perennially ill members of the families of these students?” he asked.
Alleging that there were mistakes in the SSC certificates issued by the Education Department last year, Mr. Pawan Kalyan said to avoid a repeat, the department was trying to thrust the examinations on the students in these difficult times.
The JSP chief said the preparedness level of the government to battle the second wave was far from satisfactory. “Its failure has resulted in spurt in cases and shortage of beds in hospitals treating COVID-19 patients,” he said.
