Jammu & Kashmir Govt Reduces Class 10, 12 Exam Syllabus By 30% In View Of Curtailed Classes Amid Covid-19

Principal secretary school education department Asgar Samoon on Friday announced the development in a tweet stating the syllabus of class 10 and 12 in Jammu and Kashmir has been reduced.

(Representative Image/Getty)

Srinagar: In view of school closures and curtailed classes amid COVID-19-induced lockdown, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had decided to reduce the overall syllabus for class 10 and class 12 exams in the state by 30 per cent.  Principal secretary school education department Asgar Samoon on Friday announced the development in a tweet stating the syllabus of class 10 and 12 in Jammu and Kashmir has been reduced. "Syllabus for 10+2 classes exams reduced to 70 % for JKUT," Samoon tweeted. He added that this also applied for 10th class syllabus for exams.

syllabus for 10+2 classes exams reuced to 70 % for JKUT pic.twitter.com/3Tw5Y8Jbl0

— Dr Asgar Hassan Samoon IAS (@AsgarSamoon) August 14, 2020

Sources aware of the development said that the decision has been taken in view of the COVID-19 lockdown and closure of all educational institutions which was imposed from the second week of March in view of Coronavirus pandemic. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, schools, colleges and other educational institutions are conducting online classes via various applications. However, experts are of the belief this can not be a long-term alternative for the traditional classroom learning. In another development today, the Supreme Court of India hearing the petitions challenging the University Grants Commission (UGC) latest guidelines regarding final year University exams, adjourned the matter further to August 18. The plea filed by 31 students from 13 states and one union territory challenges the recent guidelines issued by UGC on July 6, that made it mandatory for Universities to conduct the final year exams using any– pen and paper, online or a combination of both by September. The set of revised guidelines also said that examinations are mandatory for the students who have a backlog. On this, students have been protesting against UGC’s decision to conduct exams during the pandemic as they consider it unsafe. Students have argued that degrees should be given based on internal assessment and/or past performance. Due to rising cases of COVID-19 19, several states have also opposed UGC’s decision.