The government is yet to decide on whether to carry out the board exams for students of classes X and XII as scheduled or to postpone it. According to Foreign Minister Dr Tandi Dorji, the results of a mass screening will determine the decision on how to proceed further.
In the education ministry’s notification dated January 22, the board examinations for classes X and XII would be carried out from February 14 till 28. It was announced that the schools would operate in self-containment mode with students, except for those that need to undergo quarantine, expected to report to the schools by the end of this month.
However, the Foreign Minister, who is also a member of the National COVID-19 Task Force said this decision is not final and that the schools have been told to wait for directives from the government regarding the board exams.
“It is fine for the boarding schools and the schools in green zones to prepare themselves but the districts which have transmission of the virus such as Wangdue Phodrang, Chhukha, Gelephu, Samdrup Jongkhar and Thimphu, we are requesting to wait for a while,” said the Foreign Minister.
The Foreign Minister said the government is expected to announce their decision on January 30.
“If there is higher transmissibility of the virus in the community, there are two resolutions to it. Either we can proceed in containment mode or we will have to defer the exams.”
The Opposition Party recently called for the government to defer the exams. The press release highlighted the challenges operating in containment mode would pose to students and teachers. They also stated that some students would not be ready for the exams since some schools started their classes late due to the COVID pandemic.
Similarly, the People’s Democratic Party also released a statement with recommendations to either conduct the exams with proper protocols or to postpone the exams. The party said the containment mode posed several challenges including risks of a major spread and instead adopt measures such as smart scheduling of exam timetables, practical COVID protocol and stringent monitoring of student movement.
It also proposed postponing the exams by a month or two to enable putting in place decent facilities such as kitchen, adequate hostels and washrooms among others to facilitate safety protocols and create a conducive-e study environment.
Kinzang Lhadon
