JKSCERT’s fiasco; exam postponed 3rd time, students aghast
Fayaz Bukhari
Srinagar, Mar 23: The Jammu and Kashmir State Council of Educational Research and Training (JKSCERT) today postponed examination of all papers of 8th standard except for the English subject as the examination material was not delivered.
However, the Joint Director Central for JKSCERT in a notification issued here said that the postponement was announced in view of the representations from various quarters in the UT of J&K.
”It is notified for all concerned that the Middle Standard Examinations scheduled to be held on 24th, 26th and 29th of March in respect of soft zone and 26th and 29th of March in respect of hard zone stand postponed. The fresh dates for conduct of these papers of both hard zone shall be notified in due course of time”, read the notification.
Earlier, the Joint Director of JKSCERT Kashmir division had sought postponement of examination of regional languages paper scheduled for Sunday, March 24, as he had not received the question papers.
“In view of Middle Standard Examination 2024 and furnishing the stock position of question papers and reference, it is submitted that the confidential material of MSE 2023-24 shall be dispatched on 23-03-2024 in respect of Kashmir Division,” reads a communication by Joint Director of JKSCERT of Kashmir division.
“It is here to mention that the regional language paper of soft zone already notified to be held on March-24-2024 needs to be rescheduled as the regional language paper shall not be supplied on the said date due to paucity of time,” it read.
”Keeping in view the matter, it is requested that the regional language paper scheduled on March-24-2024 in respect of soft zone may kindly be rescheduled and shall be conducted on 7th of April along with Hard zone paper of regional languages.”
An official of the JKSCERT said that they had not received the question papers on time and were not in position to supply the question papers of Kashmiri subjects due to paucity of time.
“We used to get the confidential material including the question papers before the commencement of examinations. This year, we received it at the 11th hour and a portion of it is yet to be received including the question papers of various subjects,” he said.
This is for the 3rd time that the examination of the 8th class that was scheduled to commence from March 5 was postponed.
As per the first date sheet issued on 24-01-2024, the examination was scheduled to start from 5th March in soft zone and 26th March in hard zone. It was scheduled to end on March 26 and April 10 respectively.
As per the second date sheet issued on 22-02-2024, the examination was scheduled to start from 5th March in soft zone and 26th March in hard zone. It was scheduled to end on April 2 and April 10 respectively.
As per the third date sheet issued on 02-03-2024, the examination was scheduled to start from 13th March in soft zone and 26th March in hard zone. It was scheduled to end on April 2 and April 10 respectively.
A day before the examination of the regional language paper was scheduled, the examination except for English, was postponed and no new dates were announced by the JKSCERT.
The chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education (BOSE), Parikshat Singh Manhas, told Excelsior that the examination was postponed due to inclement weather, Good Friday and Holi after requests were made by certain quarters including Directorate of School Education. When asked why such requests weren’t made for the postponement of 10th and 12th standard BOSE examinations that are also being held in Kashmir these days, he couldn’t give a satisfactory answer.
It may be mentioned here that there is a dry weather forecast for March, April and May this year in the region including Kashmir.
The parents of the examinees are aghast over the frequent postponement of the examinations of the 8th standard. They demanded an inquiry into the conduct of examinations in Kashmir by the JKSCERT and the BOSE.
“Earlier it was the BOSE that distributed 11th class question papers among 12 class examinees last week, now it is the JKSCERT who postponed examinations for the non-delivery of the question papers on time. This speaks volumes about the inefficiency of the officials at the helm. They have made a mockery of the educational system in Kashmir and strong action should be taken against them,” said Tariq Ahmad, an angry parent.
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