Postpone State University Exams: Shashi Tharoor to Kerala CM

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor urged Kerala government to postpone the University Exams considering the ongoing pandemic situation. In a letter to the government, Mr Tharoor listed down the risks involved in conducting these exams. 

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor urged Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to postpone state university examinations citing the risks involved due to the increasing number of COVID-19 positive cases in the country as well as the state

With the steep rise in the novel coronavirus cases in India, Tharoor is repeatedly asking the state government to order the postponement of state university examinations and lesser down the stress and anxiety prevailing among the students amid this difficult time of the pandemic.

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In a letter to Vijayan, Tharoor mentioned that he received over 3,500 emails this week highlighting the immense strain students are going through due to the decision taken by the management of universities such as the Kerala University, Kerala Technological University and Mahatma Gandhi University.

Mr Tharoor urged the government, “Conducting examinations... is a risk that we must not force our students to face. Instead, these examinations should be postponed till such time as the current situation subsides, or, alternatively, a substitute model for grading and evaluations must be considered and adopted keeping in mind these extraordinary conditions.”

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Mr Tharoor further added, with the number of cases in the state rising again, there is a strong health hazard that these students will have to contend with while leaving their homes for examination centres and appearing for their exams. Stating that many of these centres are located in regions that are classified as hotspots due to a large number of COVID cases, and the risk of exposure is immense, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said. “Similarly, due to the rising number of cases, a number of steps have been taken by the state government and various district administrations in a bid to curtail the transmission of the virus, including reduced frequency of public transport, closure of internet cafes, mandatory social distancing protocols and so on, which have also posed a strong obstacle for our students.”

In the letter dated June 23, Mr Tharoor added, with the majority of these students living with their parents and other elderly family members, there is naturally the worry of spreading the virus among high-risk groups. “These challenges have cumulatively posed a strong impediment for our students to perform to their true potential,” he said.

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