No PEC exams this year

The government has decided not to hold this year’s Primary Education Completion and ebtedayee examinations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the state minister for primary education said at a press conference on Tuesday.

The educational institutions are also not likely to reopen in September this year, the state minister added.

An education ministry summary proposal for scrapping the Junior School Certificate and equivalent examinations is also under the consideration of the prime minister, ministry officials said.

A circular is expected to be issued on Thursday regarding the reopening of the educational institutions following a meeting of the education ministry and the primary and mass education ministry.

The Higher Secondary Certificate and equivalent examinations would be held at least 15 days after the educational institutions will reopen.

‘We have decided not to hold the PEC exam due to the COVID-19 prevalence. And we have got the approval for the decision from the Prime Minister’s Office today,’ state minister for primary and mass education Md Zakir Hossain said.

The primary schools will hold their annual examinations for pre-primary to Class V after the reopening of the educational institutions, he said, adding that the situation was yet to be suitable for them to reopen.

The government will not award primary scholarships next year as the PEC examinations will not be held this year, he said, adding that the stipend programmes for pre-primary to Class V students at the government primary schools would continue.

An estimated 29 lakh students were expected to seat for the PEC and ebtedayee examinations scheduled for November.

Primary education secretary Akram Al-Hossain said that following a meeting with the education ministry a circular was likely to be published on Thursday for not reopening the educational entities in September.   

‘We are now working on two action plans for holding the primary school annual examinations based on the recommendations from the National Academy for Primary Education,’ Akram said.

The first plan will be implemented if the institutions reopen in October and the second one if those reopen in November, he added.

The schools will decide the examination modules whether those will be based on multiple-choice questions or short questions, he said.

‘We have not yet decided what will happen if the schools remain closed till December for the coronavirus situation,’ he said.

But, he went on, it has been decided that the academic year will end in December and the students will get new textbooks in January.

Even if the schools reopen soon, he further said, the health guidelines set by the government, WHO, UNICEF and the US-based CDC would have to be followed.

A summary recommending against holding the Junior School Certificate examinations amid the pandemic was sent to the Prime Minister’s Office on August 20, education ministry officials said.

‘We will officially disclose the decision about this after getting the advice from the PMO,’ education secretary Md Mahbub Hossain told New Age. 

Education ministry officials said that like primary scholarships no junior scholarship would also be awarded next year if the JSC exams were not held this year.  

Following the PEC and other public examinations like the JSC, SSC and HSC exams, the government awards upazila-wise scholarships to high-performing students in the exams.

The students who obtain scholarships are entitled to full-free studentship at both government and non-government schools and monthly financial payments till the next public examinations, officials said.

They said that the education and primary education ministries were working to review their academic syllabuses and classroom activities on the assumption that the normal academic activities would resume this year.

Dhaka Education Board chairman Md Ziaul Haque said that the boards would issue schedules for the HSC and equivalent examinations giving the candidates at least 15 days for preparations after the institutions would reopen.

But the boards do not have any plan to curtail any exam, he said.

The scheduled HSC and equivalent exams for April 1 last were postponed following the closure of educational institutions for the coronavirus outbreak in March.

The government has since introduced programmes to impart lessons through online classes and television and radio broadcasts.

Students after passing the Secondary School Certificate and equivalent examinations are, meanwhile, attending online-based processes for admission at Class XI, Ziaul said.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net