KOCHI: Though the general education department has decided to conduct the Plus Two final year board exams from March 30, the completion of academic portions remains a challenge in most schools, and the restrictions amid the pandemic have worsened the situation. Though additional online classes are being held in many schools, many topics are pending.
Teachers said most schools have completed only less than 60% of the portions. Covering the entire syllabus and conducting an effective revision before the model exam, planned to be held by mid-March, will be an impossible task for teachers.
Teachers said that the number of working days for offline classes has been limited due to the restrictions in running schools full-fledged. With the surge in the pandemic, the attendance of teachers as well as students has declined in many schools. In some areas, classes for Class XII are not happening as the schools have to shut due to rising Covid cases.
“Though offline classes began in November, a student will get hardly three working days every week. Hence, very few hours are allotted for each subject and completing entire portions is difficult. Moreover, the government has not changed the exam pattern, which mandates 30% of questions from the non-focus areas in the syllabus. Not even portions from focus-areas have been completed by the schools so far,” said S Manoj, state general secretary, Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association (AHSTA).
Anil M George, state general secretary of Departmental Higher Secondary School Teachers Association (HSSTA), said that more working days will be lost as Plus One improvement exams have begun. “The exams and the following evaluation camp will reduce working days. Government must evaluate improvement after Plus Two exams. Besides theory portions, practical sessions too lag behind the schedule. Though schools are conducting online classes, students are bunking them,” George said.
