Telangana Govt May Cancel SSC Exams

HYDERABAD: The Telangana government which had already postponed Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations across the state, is speculated to take a key decision based on the practical difficulties in conducting the 10th Standard exams in other parts of the state barring the GHMC limits and Ranga Reddy district, at a high-level meeting scheduled to be held in Pragathi Bhavan, at 2 pm on Monday.

Speculation is rife that the State Government is likely to cancel the SSC exams for this academic year 2019-20 and instead promote the students to the next class based on their marks in internal or prefinal examinations. The Telangana chief minister is expected to discuss all the issues related to examinations with Education Minister Sabitha Indra Reddy and other officials and take a final call on it at the meeting.

The Education Department officials are said to be of the opinion that it would be better if the state government cancels the SSC exams entirely for the academic year 2019-20 in view of the prevailing coronavirus pandemic in the state. The Telangana High Court has permitted the state government last week to conduct the examinations barring the GHMC limits which includes Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. But there is widespread skepticism within the communities of teachers, officials, and parents that such a move is bound to put students within the GHMC limits under tremendous psychological stress.

Under these circumstances, there is an increased likelihood of the state government discussing the possibility of cancelling the examinations for this academic year and 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. The state SSC board to announce its decision immediately through an official statement after 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 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.

If the SSC examinations are really cancelled as being speculated, it will become the second such instance 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.