Board exams amidst COVID-19: Students juggle online school, tuitions and self-study

The biggest worry for Varun Salunkhe, a 16-year-old Class 10 student, is that he wouldn't get additional marks under the sports quota.

Salunkhe, appearing for the Class 10 board examinations in 2021, and a district-level badminton champion in Nashik, Maharashtra, was hoping that there would be opportunities for sports tournaments ahead of his examination in May. But that looks highly unlikely.

"My scores are generally in the range of 60-65 percent and I had pinned my hopes on getting through to good junior colleges in Mumbai through the sports quota. But the Coronavirus outbreak has played the dampener," he said, a trifle deflated.

Amidst the COVID-19 situation, schools across the country have opened up, albeit slowly, for physical classes. The first priority for schools is to complete the academic curriculum for students of Classes X and XII, who will be appearing for their board examinations in May and June this year.

For students, the worries are wide-ranging: from examination stress, completion of syllabus, virus fears and future admission prospects. Virtually, the Sword of Damocles is hanging over all of them.

Take Avisipta Das for instance. An 18-year-old from Kolkata who is appearing for the Class XII board examinations in West Bengal this year, she is eyeing a computer science programme in the United States for her undergraduate degree and is worried about missing deadlines.

“I hope the exam results are declared on time. Else, I will have to waste a year to fulfill my dreams of pursuing a degree in the US. Plus elections are also scheduled in West Bengal this year, which could lead to further delays in exams and results,” she feared.

Rushing academic deadlines

Schools across the country are in the midst of rushing through the academic curriculum for the Class X and XII students.

That means teachers breeze through the chapters across Mathematics, Physics, Biology, English, Hindi, Sanskrit, History and Geography, among others. The idea is to impart the basics and leave the rest of the course for the students to complete on their own.

For some students, this is no less than traumatic. Sixteen-year-old Nisha Gautam from Bengaluru was diagnosed with Dyslexia in 2019 and hence even simple assignments in school are turning out to be difficult. Gautam told Moneycontrol that online classes are now cramped with up to three/four chapters of multiple subjects being taught on the same day.

“My school started online classes only in July 2020, so we have already lost a lot of months in the academic calendar. I cannot complain because the standard response from my teachers has been to shift me to other schools, meant for children with special needs,” she complained.

Gautam has taken special tuitions, but that means that she has classes till 11pm, even on Sundays. It’s truly a mountain to climb.

Also Read: How teachers are bending under pressure 

Meanwhile, practical examinations will begin from March 1 and schools are in the process of putting into place the administrative logistics needed for the exercise.

For outstation students, the problems are compounded. Those who had gone back to their hometowns are now in a fix on when to return and even more important, what will be their accommodation status?

Mannan Abdul Khan, a student at Dev Ganga Boarding School in the Delhi-NCR region, had to go back to his hometown Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh during the COVID-19 lockdown. Like millions of his contemporaries, he was pursuing classes online. Now with his upcoming Class XII boards, Khan has to go back in the face of huge uncertainty.

Said a clearly-worried Khan: “We have been told that the hostel will be out of bounds due to the virus. We have not even been given dates for practicals, so how do I book tickets? If we do not get sufficiently advance notice, there is a chance that I may miss the practicals.'' He’s got a point.

The school administration, however, told Moneycontrol that students will be informed at least a week in advance.

Bhushan Tiwari, a trustee at the school, said that the administration is in the process of undertaking a thorough cleaning of the school.

I hope the exam results are declared on time. Else, I will have to waste a year to fulfill my dreams of pursuing a degree in the US

- Avisipta Das

Inadequate facilities

While schools have opened across the country partially from February 1, initial estimates reveal that only 20-30 percent of the Class X and Class XII students have returned to the classrooms. The fear of the virus and unavailability of public transport are reasons cited for their absence.

Savli Patel, who runs a grocery store in central Mumbai, told Moneycontrol that she is unable to send her 18-year-old son for doubt-clearing sessions being held currently, because local trains are not running during the stipulated periods.

“We don’t own a vehicle. The Internet keeps going off and my son Anshul is unable to focus using the mobile phone. But what’s the choice? The school has special sessions, but we cannot afford to send him using taxis that could cost Rs 600 per day. At least school students should be allowed on local trains at all times,” she pleads fervently.

A few staff continue to teach remotely, since they went back home during the lockdown. Mahesh Pandian, a 16-year-old at a private school in Chennai, said that their History teacher, who returned to Madurai in March 2020, has still not come back.

“The teacher has poor internet in her area so she doesn’t take online classes on a daily basis. She sometimes sends recorded video lectures, which aren’t very clear. How do we study like this at a time when board examinations are just two months away?” he queries.

In Hyderabad, while schools have reopened and public transport is available, students who have recovered from COVID-19 are being dissuaded by authorities to attend physical classes.

Seventeen-year-old Srikesh Gadde, who recovered from the virus in November, thought he had done the right thing by informing his school about his recovery. The authorities immediately sent an email to his parents forbidding them from sending him to school.

“I missed out on a lot of classes because I was recovering from COVID-19 entirely during November and part of December. Now the board exams are close and I can’t go to school. Neither are teachers interested in online classes and in subjects like Mathematics. I really need a lot of assistance,” he added. His desperation is understandable.

If there is one intense hope, it is that all schools will open to their 100 percent capacity for Classes VIII-XII from March 15 onwards. Hopefully, some worries of students could be resolved then.