Plus Two higher secondary practical examinations will begin on June 28, while vocational higher secondary (VHSE) and National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) practicals will be conducted from June 21.
The examinations will be held in compliance with COVID-19 guidelines.
Taking into consideration students’ demands for more time for training for practical examinations, they can reach schools beginning Thursday up to June 25, depending on teacher availability, and conduct training following health safety protocols.
Protocols
Students, teachers, and lab assistants should wear double masks and gloves. They should use sanitisers before entering the lab and on exiting it, and maintain physical distancing. No crowding should be allowed.
Students’ body temperatures should be checked. In case of high temperature, they should not be allowed to mingle with other students and instead accommodated separately and practical examination held for them.
Students who test positive for SARVS-CoV2 can appear for the practical examinations at special centres once they turn negative.
Lab equipment should not be reused by another students. Laboratories should not be air-conditioned, and their doors and windows should be opened to ensure ventilation.
Students should leave the school premises as soon as the examinations end. Writing of procedures as part of the exam should be held outside the lab. Viva voce should be held in different classrooms.
Maximum laptops available should be used for IT-based practicals.
If need be, students can be given training ahead of the examinations beginning Thursday depending on the school conditions. In case the practical training is extended, it should be ensured that the examinations are concluded in a time-bound manner.
Timings
Steps should be taken to prevent all students from gathering in schools at the same time. The exam schedule should be finalised and the timings communicated to parents and students.
The circular also specifies in detail the duration of the practical examinations, number of batches for a subject in a day and the number of students in a batch, maximum number of experiments to be done by a student, avoiding use of equipment such as microscope, cleaning of equipment and so on.
