Amid the coronavirus pandemic in the country, the West Bengal state education department decided today that students currently studying in classes 10 and 12 will not have their final exams in 2021, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said.
These students will be able to sit directly for the Madhyamik (class 10) and Uchcha-Madhyamik (class 12) exams, Banerjee told reporters after a cabinet meeting.
He also said that the Cabinet gave its go-ahead to immediately begin the hiring process to fill the vacancies of 16,500 school teacher positions out of the 20,000 candidates who passed the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) exams.
“Students were not able to go to schools due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The education department has made the decision that those who are willing to take the Madhyamik and Uccha-Madhyamik 2021 exams will not have to pass any exams. it will allow them to take these (two) exams, “he said.
Educational institutes in the state have been closed in the state since March after the pandemic hit. Although digital classes have started, many students have not been able to participate in them due to lack of smartphones or internet facilities.
“We have also decided to start the recruitment process to fill 16,500 vacancies out of the 20,000 successful TET examinees. Interviews will begin in December and the entire recruitment process will be completed in January. Recruitment of the rest of the candidates will take place later in phases.” , said.
Banerjee said the offline exams for the upcoming TET, in which about 2.50,000 candidates have applied, will be held as soon as possible.
Regarding the reopening of the schools, Mamata had said that the decision on the reopening of the schools will be made only after mid-November.
Despite the fact that the Union Ministry of Education allows the gradual reopening of educational institutions across the country, West Bengal’s state schools are unsure about resuming physical classes and are awaiting the decision of the state government.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had previously said her administration would consider reopening educational institutions after Kali Puja on November 15 “depending on the COVID-19 situation at that time.”
Education Minister Partha Chatterjee had said schools cannot be reopened until the pandemic situation improves and the safety of children is the priority of the state government.
Meanwhile, West Bengal reported the highest single-day recovery of 4,415 COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, bringing the total number of people cured to 3.72,265, the health department said in a bulletin.
The death toll rose to 7,403 after 53 more people succumbed to the disease.
The bulletin said 3,891 people tested positive for the infection during the day, bringing the count to 4,13,112.
The number of active cases is now 33,444.
In the last 24 hours, 44,117 samples were tested for coronavirus in the state, the bulletin added.
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