Stalin advises govt to defer Class 10 exams

Criticising School Education Minister KA Sengottaiyan for being ‘stubborn’ on conducting Class 10 exams on June 1 even after extending lock down till May 31, Stalin said that there was nothing but arrogance in the statement of the minister that exams would be conducted without students getting infected, and that too when Tamil Nadu ranks third after Maharashtra and Gujarat in COVID-19 with even infants testing positive.

The haste shown by the AIADMK regime in conducting board exams for Std 10 students was akin to the unscientific claims the lethargic government had made in preventing coronavirus spread since beginning, Stalin said, urging the government to stop gambling with the lives of students and conduct board exams after giving enough time to students following the reopening of schools.

Remarking that parents and students were not refusing to attend exams, but they were only urging the government not to conduct during disease spread and curfew, the LoP said the students and parents have been subjected to enormous stress by the government, which offers to provide e-pass to facilitate the return of students from other places.

Citing an emotional plea a student’s mother had made to the school education minister through her letter published in a regional magazine, Stalin said the letter suggesting alternatives to common test during the lock down reflects the mindset of all parents of Class 10 students in the state. However, the school education minister offers to provide protective gear to teachers and conduct exams on June 1, unmindful of the fears of the parents, the DMK president alleged.