Should Matric and Inter Exams Canceled? Possible Solutions that can Work Without Wasting One Year of Studies for Students

With the increased coronavirus cases in Pakistan, the fate of thousands of students that are going to appear in the matric and intermediate exam hangs for some time. The coronavirus pandemic is producing wide spared impacts in all spheres of life. Education is one of the sectors to be affected by the lockdown. All education institutes have been closed and educational activities are at a standstill position. In Pakistan, the nationwide closure of educational institutes was announced in March. Initially, the closure was for two weeks and now it has been extended. The timing of the closure was very crucial as far as the board exams are concerned. The board exam session was in the middle stages as students were giving the matric exams. According to the latest updates the affected individuals has reached up to 20,134 that made it quite clear the exam are most likely to postponed for certain time.

Most of the students are concerned about the cancellation of matric and inter exam. In the absence of effective medicine and vaccine, the exams have been postponed up to a certain time. This lockdown no doubt helped to prevent the expansion of the diseases but its far-reaching consequences are quite clear. This state of affairs is adversely affecting the matric and intermediate students in a race against time. However, board officials can adopt some alternative solutions to overcome this problem. Following are some possible solutions that can work without wasting one year of studies for students.

Conduct the Board Exams

The most preferable way is to conduct the board exams so that students do not have to waste their academic year. According to the board officials, the board exams will be probably conducted in June after the situation settle down. But it is not confirmed yet as it depends upon the condition of the coronavirus. The ongoing situation is continuously being monitored and as soon as the things will be under control, the authorities will announce the revised exam schedule of the board examination.

Alternative Grading Procedure

Although to conduct the board exam seems difficult as it does not follow the social distancing in the time of the pandemic. Almost 500 to 1000 students gather in an examination center to give the board exam. This made it impossible to manage such several students in the time of the pandemic. So the alternative grading procedure can be considered as a suitable method to save the academic years of the students. In this grading system, the students are provided with the relative marks so that they can take admission in the next grade to continue their studies.

Use of Online Educational Platforms

The students of matric and intermediate are in worrisome conditions as their exams have been postponed. The academic years are very crucial for students so to save the time the students can use the free online education platforms and services to create the rooms and discussion boards to undertake the lesson based discussion. The students can take online lectures to utilize their time efficiently. For example, the students that have given the 10th class exam can enroll in the online classes of the intermediate to have a basic understanding. The Higher Education Commission of Pakistan has also started online education is the best possible solution that ensures the safety of students and faculty and keeps the education schedule going without any inconvenience.

Take the Online Examination

To conduct the exams, using the online Exam Software can be considered that may help alleviate the challenge of conducting the online exam. It will reduce the pressure for students from missing out on their board exams. This will prevent the delay in the annual academic calendar of the students are they are being able to give the exams. The majority of students are eager to utilize this time and continue with education. However their many concerns regarding this matter but still it is among the feasible and operative solutions to take the exam.

The cancellation of matric and intermediate is not the option to consider as the students have to face severe consequences. It is somehow difficult to undertake these possible solutions but not impossible. The academic year of the students is very precious so to save their time, any alternative should be adopted in this pandemic so that students can give their board exams. This is not only subjected to the short-run response but it has to be effective for the long-run response also to tackle all the disruptions afterward. The need for the hour is to cope with the current emergency and bring certain approaches that can be proved effective as an alternative for the board exam.