Amid J-K crisis, board exams to be held twice, students can choose Nov or Mar
In an unprecedented move, the Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to conduct board examinations for class 10 and 12 twice — giving students a choice to appear for the crucial exams either in November or March.
In an unprecedented move, the Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to conduct board examinations for class 10 and 12 twice — giving students a choice to appear for the crucial exams either in November or March.
Following resistance from a section of students complaining about non-completion of the syllabus, the state’s Board of School Education (BOSE) announced on Friday that there will be an option to appear for the exams in March.
As per the current schedule, the board exams are due in less than two weeks in Kashmir.
“Its an unprecedented situation, it needed an unprecedented solution,’’ education minister Naeem Akhtar told Hindustan Times.
“There were two opinions. Some students wanted to give exams in November, some wanted the exams to be postponed as they had not completed the syllabus, so now we have left the decision to the children to decide according to their interest,” Akhtar said.
However, authorities made it clear that concessions offered to those appearing for the exams in November will not be offered to the March examinees.
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He added that candidates belonging to Gurez, Tandgar and Tehsil Keran and Machil divisions, both regular and private, shall not be eligible for the proposed March 2017 examinations.
The Valley has been caught in a disruptive limbo since July when protests erupted after the death of militant commander, Burhan Wani. The Hizbul Mujahideen commander, considered a hero among some locals, was killed in an encounter with security forces. As unrest grew, a curfew was imposed in Kashmir -- the longest continuous lockdown in the Valley -- and was coupled with a separatists called shutdown. Normal life has been out of gear for the past four months, during which more than 80 people have died and thousands have been injured. More than 25 schools were also burnt in the ensuing chaos.
Also read | Education in Kashmir faces another challenge: Almost 20 schools burnt in unrest