Telangana Govt Decides To Promote SSC Students Without Exams

HYDERABAD: In a major decision and as largely anticipated, the Telangana government on Monday decided to promote all the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) or 10th class students to the next class without having to appear for the reminder of the examinations. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao took the decision to this effect during a key review meeting he held at Pragathi Bhavan here with Education Minister Sabitha Indrareddy and officials of the education department.

This would effectively mean that all the 5,34,903 students of 10^th standard across the state will be promoted to the next class, call it 11th standard, Intermediate or equivalent course, without any need to clear the final examinations. The state government, in concurrence with the overwhelming opinion among the official circles, is of the opinion that it is difficult to conduct the crucial examinations in the prevailing coronavirus pandemic scenario especially in the manner that the high court has ordered the state government. The SSC examinations remained postponed since March 24th due to the nationwide lockdown announced to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. All the students by then had appeared for three papers of two subjects.

The high court, despite the state government’s preparedness, on Saturday last, ordered that the examinations should be held across the state but not in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts falling under the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) limits in view of the high incidence of COVID-19 cases in this region.

Upset with the high court order, the state government on Saturday night cancelled the examinations that were originally scheduled to be held from Monday, June 8^th, 2020, across the state.

Now, having decided to promote the students without examinations, the state government has also decided to allow the promotion through a grading system. The state government is expected to give a clarity on the modalities of the grading system in a day or two. This issue was also reported to have been discussed in detail during Monday's review meeting as the awarding of grades can also lead to complications. The chief minister is said to have instructed the education department officials to devise a transparent system in this regard.

As largely speculated, the state government is likely to give the grading based on the students’ performances in pre-final examinations and internals besides FAs and SAs.

There is an increased likelihood of the state government promoting the students to the next class based on internal marks or pre-final marks. Even the teachers are reported to have suggested to the government on these lines instead of holding the examinations under the precarious circumstances in the wake of the COVID-19 situation.

The Telangana Education Department has already reportedly acquired the pre-final exam marks of all the students across the state so that the announcement of the SSC results could be made quickly. In the wake of the state government’s decision, the state SSC board is expected to announce its decision through an official statement following the review meeting with the Chief Minister.

The Telangana High court on Saturday ordered the government to conduct the SSC exams in the entire state except in the high containment areas of Greater Hyderabad municipal corporation (GHMC) and Ranga Reddy. The high court verdict, based on a PIL, turned out to be a big setback for the state government which expressed its preparedness to conduct the examinations throughout the state including the GHMC limits. With the high court barring examinations in GHMC limits, which is the worst-affected by COVID-19 in the state, the entire scenario has changed. Upset with the high court verdict, the state government on Saturday night immediately announced the postponement of the examinations that were scheduled to be held from Monday, Jun3 8th.

The cancellation of SSC examinations becomes the second such instance of a key examination being done away with in the history of Telangana. Chief Minister KCR has recently recalled at a recent press conference that the Osmania University had cancelled its annual examinations way back in 1951 due to the riots that broke out when the Hyderabad establishment was merged and integrated into the Indian Union. Government sources are of the opinion that this is the best decision in the present situation. Already, states like Haryana and Punjab have decided to cancel the 10th Standard exams and promote all students.