Ringing out cancel Class X exams call Govt needs to listen

The Government should heed the suggestion of the All Manipur Recognised Private Schools Welfare Association (AMRPSWA). The CBSE has already cancelled the Class X examinations and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations has done away with the ICSE examinations (Class X) this year. Schools and colleges have been closed and so have hostels. A number of students of Manipur studying in different parts of the country have been home since 2020 and some who had gone back to college have again returned following the second wave of Coronavirus. Technically the second wave may not yet have landed in the State, but this is no reason to be lax. It is along this line that the State Government had earlier stipulated that all coming back to Manipur or visiting the State should a negative report via RT-PCR, TrueNat or CB-NAAT COVID-19 testing only to add RAT later following the immense strain that testing labs have been put under in different parts of the country. That not all come back with the needed negative test results can be surmised from the fact that a number of incoming air passengers have had to undergo testing at the airport itself on arrival and quite a few of them have tested positive. The new strain, this is probably what could have infected the returnees. The State Government has also gone ahead and announced the closure of the three Ima Keithels and ordered that shops at Thangal Keithel and Paona Keithel should open on rotational basis. SOP violators continue to be pulled up on a daily basis for failing to adhere to the mandated SOPs and this is probably where Manipur may be said to be sitting on a keg of gun powder.  The number of fresh cases has also seen an increase in the last few days and Manipur is now back to the days when the number of new cases used to be in three digits.
It is against this reality that the AMRPSWA has urged the State Government to cancel the pending Class X board examinations. This sounds logical. With the new strain of the virus now infecting the younger lots, exposing young students to the possibility of gathering in huge numbers inside the examination halls may not be what the doctors and experts would advise. And a number of other States too have already postponed or even cancelled the Class X examinations. The danger is real, very real and the State Government would do wise to consult educationists and those engaged in teaching the young students to take a concrete decision. On the other hand, cancelling the examinations should not mean giving a free hand to the young students to roam around freely with no anxiety over the board exams. This is where the responsibility of the parents and elders of the family come into play. No doubt Class X examinations is one of the most important stages in the education of the young students but there is the need to take cognizance of the reality and this is a global pandemic and India is going through one of the worst phases with over 3 lakhs fresh infection daily in the last couple of days. The State  Government certainly cannot afford to take chances.