In its argument in favour of conducting class 10 exams from June 15, the TN government revealed that the pandemic is expected to peak in the months of October and November.
Coimbatore: In its argument in favour of conducting class 10 exams fro June 15, the TN government revealed that the pandemic is expected to peak in the months on OCtober and November.
The TN government had earlier said that the class 10 exams would be conducted as scheduled on June 15 even though COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the state. The Tamilnadu High and Higher Secondary School Graduate Teachers Association filed PIL against this.
Arguing its stance at the Madras High Court for holding the exams amid the COVID-19 spread in the state, the TN government said that cases are expected to peak in the months of October and November.
The Court meanwhile questioned how the government was going to protect the students who appear for the exams and wanted to know the government's preparedness. Justices Vineet Kothari and R. Suresh Kumar also took into account the nine lakh students who would appear for the exams, the two lakh teachers and thousands of non-teaching staff all over the state and further asked, "Even if one of the nine lakh students contracts COVID-19 and dies, what will the State government do? In support of its decision the government stated certain facts and revealed the true nature of the COVID-19 situation that is prevailing in the state.
Advocate General Vijay Narayan argued that the government wanted to conduct the exams now, as the situation in the future might become worse. He further said that the pandemic might become worse in the future and that the situation might not be conducive to conducting exams.
Though it seemed a fair point for the case, the suggestion that the pandemic might worsen than the current situation of the spread of COVID-19 in the state is far from reassuring. All over TN, more than 32,000 cases have been reported while Chennai alone has reported over 22,000. On the basis of this prediction, the government wanted to conduct the exams as scheduled on June 15.
The Tamilnadu Dr. MGR Medical University has projected 1.5 lakh cases in Chennai alone and a shocking 1,600 deaths by mid-July. The central medical education body that has been working in close association with the government has also said that COVID-19 cases in TN will peak in October.
The government used these projections based on the university's mathematical modelling that predict that TN may record 1.3 lakh COVID-19 cases and 800 deaths by the end of June and the pandemic may reach its peak during the months of October and November.
While the case adjourned to June 11, the TN government, however, has now announced that the Std 10 Board exams for 2020 have been cancelled.