COVID-19: Bihar promotes 16 million schoolchildren without conducting exams

Patna: The Bihar government has decided to promote 16 million students enrolled in government-run schools without conducting examinations. The government said the decision was taken in the light of the COVID-19 pandemic which badly affected teaching in schools last year.

Education department officials said all the 16 million students from Grade 1 to Grade 8 enrolled in the government schools for the academic session 2020-21 were being promoted to upper classes considering the problems of the students who never attended class owing to the pandemic.

“We have taken an official decision to promote these students to the next class. But before promoting, the children will be taught basic study material of their current class,” education department secretary Sanjay Kumar told the media on Friday. The children will have to complete the prescribed basic course within three months before being promoted.

The Indian government had imposed the nationwide lockdown from March 24, 2020 to check the spread of coronavirus. This resulted in suspension of rail/road services and all kinds of communication. Although the lockdown was lifted three months later, all schools remained closed the whole year as not a single classes could be held. Keeping this in mind, the state government has now taken this decision.

The state government allowed reopening of the schools and coaching centres from January 4 this year, nine months after they were closed. However, only Grade 9 to Grade 12 was reopened in the first phase with instructions to operate classes at half the total strength.

The state government has now also allowed resumption of classes for Grade 6 to 8.

Last year, the education department had promoted more than 200,000 students by granting them grace marks. All these students had appeared for grade 10 and grade 12 examinations but failed to clear the tests conducted by the state-run Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB).

from World,Europe,Asia,India,Pakistan,Philipines,Oceania,Americas,Africa Feed https://ift.tt/3scHeHk