March academic session: Stakeholders Seek Broader Consensus Over Govt’s Move
Muhammad Adnan
Srinagar: The government’s likely decision to shift the examination session to March month from the current academic year has raised concerns among the stakeholders who have sought a broader consensus over the issue.
Notably, the government has decided to hold the class 10th to 12th annual 2022 examination in March-2023 instead of November-December of 2022.
However, the official orders are yet to be issued by the government.
The stakeholders said the decision to shift the session from the current academic year will tell upon the preparation schedule of the students given the gap between the months of the ongoing academic calendar.
“The students have already completed their syllabus and are preparing for the JK Board exams. But if the session gets changed at this stage, it will definitely disturb their preparation schedule,” said one of the private school owners, wishing not to be named.
The stakeholders do not oppose the government decision of shifting the academic session to March but have raised concern over the time of the announcement.
“If the government wants to shift the session from the current year then the announcement should have been made last year so that the students would prepare accordingly for the exams,” said an owner of renowned private coaching centre in Srinagar, wishing anonymity.
“The students do not only prepare for Board exams but they simultaneously prepare for other national level competitive exams besides foreign examinations as per the schedule of the exams,” he said.
The stakeholders said the decision to implement the March session will definitely help the students if announced at the proper time.
“Now that the month of August is already over, the government should go ahead with the March session from next academic year,” the stakeholders said.
Notably, the J&K Chief Secretary (CS) Dr Arun Kumar Mehta in April this year said the Jammu and Kashmir will fully implement the National Education Policy (NEP-2020) from the current academic session and will also move to a uniform academic calendar which in turn will be synchronized to the national academic calendar.
The Higher Education Department (HED) already shifted the academic session to July from the current year in line with the National Academic Calendar.
“We cannot compare the School Education Department with the higher education department. It will not affect the college students whether the session changed from the current year or it changes from next year. But in case of high and higher secondary students, timing of the decision will matter a lot given the aspiration of students for various competitive exams,” said a senior academician, wishing not to be named.
Pertinently, a high level committee constituted by the government was tasked to suggest the operational mechanism to shift the session from November to March. The committee in its report has suggested various measures under which the academic session can be shifted to March from the current session.
However, the delay in issuing formal orders has left the students in a dilemma. The students said the government should make it official whether the March session will be implemented from the current year or the next year.
“If decision is announced officially, it will help the students to streamline their preparation schedule,” said Arsalan Ahmad, a student from Srinagar.
Principal Secretary School Education Department (SED) Bishwajit Kumar Singh was not available for his comments despite repeated attempts.
However, a top official said the session will be shifted to March from the current year.
“There is a delay in official announcement because the administrative department wants to be clear about some technical issues,” the official said.
He said the government wants to frame a schedule for holding exams, evaluation of answer scripts and declaration of results as per March session.
“Once the things get finalized, an official announcement will be made accordingly. But this is decided that the March session will be implemented from the current academic year,” the official said.
