Exams in November, can’t put them off , says minister

Rifat Mohidin

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, October 16

Education Minister Naeem Akhter today refuted reports about postponing of Class X and XII exams till March and asked the students to be ready for the exams on the scheduled dates in November.

The reports about the possibility of postponement of exams till March were carried by a section of the local media in the Valley on Saturday.

The Education Minister has called the reports baseless. “There is no plan to postpone the Class X and XII exams any further. I have been receiving countless calls from worried parents and children since yesterday after a baseless report was circulated by a news gathering agency and unfortunately picked up by many newspapers,” Akhter wrote on his Facebook page.

Due to the ongoing unrest in Kashmir, which marked 100 days on Sunday, the students have not been able to attend classes. They have covered less than 50 per cent of their syllabus, forcing them to take to streets and demand postponement of the exams.

However, despite massive protests, the authorities have said the exams would be held in the second week of November as scheduled.

The minister, in his Facebook post, said he had been receiving requests from students and parents who were insisting that the exams be held in accordance to the published date sheet.

“That is the decision of the government as well. Let the students remain focused on their studies and prepare vigorously for the exams on the due date. Best wishes to them,” said Akhter.

A senior official of the Board of School Education recently said they were ready to give concessions in the syllabus if the students approached them formally, but the students have refused to budge from their demand of delaying the exams till March.

Students have also threatened to boycott the exams if the government did not delay them.