Tamil Nadu School Education Minister Anbil Poyyamozhi Mahesh Tuesday announced that there will be no quarterly or half-yearly examinations for students of classes 10-12 this academic year. The minister made the announcement at a review meeting with the Chief and District Education Officers, and said the state government was considering the possibility of keeping a combined mock exam in December, ahead of the board exams in March 2022. “We are exploring the possibility of having a combined mock exam before the board examination in December instead of the half-yearly and quarterly examinations. I will tell you once its been finalised,” he said. The minister said a mock exam in December was being considered to review the progress of students. "We decided to conduct a mock exam in December so that students don't get scared as they sit for board exams," he said. Ahead of the reopening of schools for classes 1-8, the Education Minister discussed the safety measures and standard operating procedure with district education officers and other officials at the School Education Department. “At the meeting today, the safety measures that should be implemented on the campuses were discussed in detail. There will be surprise inspections by teams once the schools reopen to check whether all safety protocols are being followed,” he said. “We don’t know how long young children, such as LKG or Class 1 students, can wear masks in the classroom. Parents can wait outside the classroom and if they feel children are not comfortable wearing masks, they can take them back home with them,” the minister said.
