Delhi: Constructive response

The rapid countrywide spread of the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent national lockdown of all education institutions from Kg-Ph D has disrupted the academic year 2019-20 which was drawing to a close for 1.5 million schools (including CBSE, CISCE) Final assessments as well as various entrance examinations conducted by the NTA (National Testing Agency) have been postponed. Simultaneously, the second semester of universities was in full swing with more than 60 percent of academic transaction completed and apprenticeships and project assignments having commenced. Therefore, the out-of-the-blue national lockdown started in mid- March has resulted in delays in completion of school board examinations, evaluation and certification. The postponement of the class XII school-leaving exams in particular, is delaying admission processes of colleges and other higher education institutions (HEIs) across the country even as the latter are in the thick of switching from conventional classroom lectures pedagogies to digital online learning systems and processes. Against this backdrop of a comprehensive disruption of the academic calendar in school and higher education, governments, exam boards and regulators have been burning the midnight oil to manage this unprecedented situation to ensure that the current academic year is saved and the next year gets off to a smooth start. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the largest pan-India exams board with 22,145 affiliated schools countrywide, had already completed two-thirds of its school-leaving class X and XII exams when the Central government order to shut down all education institutions with immediate effect was issued on March 18. On April 1, CBSE issued a circular to all affiliated schools to promote classes I-VIII students to the next higher class and promote class IX and XI students on the basis of their term exam scores. The remaining 29 board exams — 11 for class XII students and 18 for class X students — will be held during the period July 1-15. In the case of the Delhi-based Council for Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), six subject exams for class X ICSE and eight for  class XII ISC students are ending. In a circular dated May 1 to affiliated schools, the CISCE board says that eight days preparation time will be given to students after the date is announced post lockdown 3.0. Inevitably, the delay of CBSE,  CISCE (and 29 state exam boards) exams has disrupted the calendar of 39,931 undergrad colleges which admit students on the basis of these scores with toppers having the option of admission into top-ranked colleges of their choice. After the CBSE, CISCE and state boards are finally held, their answer papers have to be evaluated, scored and school-leaving certificates issued, a process normally spread over three months. Therefore, anticipating delay in completion of this process, UGC has recommended postponing start of the new academic year to September 1, 2020 (cf. July 2020). In a set of guidelines issued on  April 29, UGC says: “Admission to the undergraduate and postgrad programmes for the session 2020- 21 may (i.e, should) be completed by 31.08.2020. If necessity arises, provisional admissions may…