Parents of primary school students worried about annual exams amid pandemic

Grade-four student Sakia Karim Raka has been housebound for around five and a half months. Her school in Dhaka’s Malibagh held online classes for some days in June, but could not continue.

Now, with four months left of the year, what will happen to Raka’s promotion to class five? Will she need to take annual exams? How will she sit for the exams after spending half the year without classes in person when she could not study well at home?      

Along with the teachers of primary schools, parents are worried about the annual examinations as the educational institutions continue to remain shut with the outbreak still raging across the country.

As there has been a long gap in their studies, many have suggested that the academic year for primary students should end without any exam.

Some others suggest extending the academic year and truncating the syllabus.

The parents believe the school authorities should give clear directives on the issue.

The school authorities, on the other hand, say they are waiting for the government decision.

Educational institutions across the country have been closed since Mar 17 as part of efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. The government is yet to give any decision on reopening them.

Raka, who studies at Malibagh Faizur Rahman Ideal School and College, attended her first term examinations online in July, said her father Abdul Karim.

On Monday, the school authorities gave the evaluated exam papers to the parents along with a syllabus for the upcoming annual exams, he said.

“Online classes took place in June for just a few days, then there was no more classes as many of the students lacked the devices. The school authorities said they’ll make a decision on holding exams after the government decides on it,” said the father, worried about annual exams.

“Children have lost their interest in studies due to the long break. They should be automatically promoted. If they really want to hold exams, it should be based on a short and easy syllabus and designed with easy multiple choice questions,” he said.

Primary school students should not take any exams in the present circumstances, believes Madhu Tripura, the father of Ananya Shreya, a first grader of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College.

“I have two children studying in Viqarunnisa. I had to buy them a laptop as it was troublesome to attend online classes through Zoom on a mobile phone.

“But online classes do not provide enough academic lessons for them. Also, not all students have an electronic device to follow online classes. So, I believe making the children to take tests will be pointless,” he said.

His son stopped studying after the school closed in March, said Manik Mia, the father of Tanjib Alvi, a student of grade five at Motijheel Ideal School. Later, they started online classes, but those were not like in the normal times, he said.

“The syllabus is pretty long which the children can’t complete studying without regularly attending classes. Also, they have lost focus on studies. So the syllabus for the annual exam should be truncated,” he said.

Students studying in English version are facing even more problems, said their parents.

Though the online classes and exams are on, it is never like regular education, said Nurjahan Begum Shila, whose son ‘Tamim’ is a fifth grader at Southpoint School and College.

“Sometime the internet connection is disrupted; also they can’t ask back questions they need to,” she said.

“It is obvious that the students will fall behind in their studies. I’m trying my best to make him study at home,” the mother said.

“It is hard for many parents to explain lessons to their kids who study in English version. The private tutors are also not allowed to come home at present.

“So, it is them (students of English version) who suffer the most. Their teachers are skilled to teach them, but not their parents,” said Salma Ahmed Heera, mother of Yasin Ahmed, a student of English version in Cosmo School in Banasree.

“I am worried if my child will get half of the education he was likely to. This problem will linger through the year.”

Yasin is continuing his online classes through WhatsApp, she said.

Heera, who is also the principal of Golden Era Kids School in the neighbourhood, said the students will suffer as there is still no directive from the education ministry.

"What they [ministry] told us is vague. Sometimes they say that the exams will be held and sometimes they say they won't. We are confused and can't make a decision. They should have told us how to arrange the exams for the children," the principal said.

"The schools are providing lessons on their own plans, which is not right. We need guidelines to get a handle on the situation, which the government is yet to make."

Online classes have also caused mobile phone addiction among the students, believes Heera.

Authorities in most of the schools said they are waiting for the government decision before holding the annual exams or to fix a syllabus for it.

Annual exams are still some time away and they have not decided about it, said Fougia Rezwan, the principal of Viqarunnisa Noon School and College.

"There's no government directive as yet. We are taking online classes and providing worksheets. The education ministry, board or the government has the only authority to decide about the syllabus," she said.

The school has cancelled the half-yearly exams for grades one to nine and the pre-test for grade 10 which were scheduled for September.

Students from grade five onwards are having online classes while they do not offer online classes for students of grade one to four in a bid to prevent them from getting addicted to electronic devices, said Abu Sayeed Bhuiyan, principal of Government Laboratory High School.

“We asked the parents to follow the syllabus and teach the students at home,” he said.

The principal also said they have not received any directives from the government about annual exams.

Some of the schools, however, are taking online exams after completion of syllabus through online classes.

They arranged online preparatory tests for first term exams and also model tests for second term exams, said Mahbubur Rahman Mollah, principal of Shamsul Haque Khan School and College in Demra.

At least 96 percent of the students from grades one and two took part in the exams, he said.

“The annual exams will be taken according to the decision of the education ministry. If possible, we’ll take online annual exams,” he added.

They are noting down attendance of the students in their digital classes, Mollah said. “Teachers are keeping contact with the students and taking online classes to motivate them in learning,” he said.

Though the government and private primary schools are taking online classes, most of the kindergartens are not doing the same. They did not give any directives to the parents on the issue.

The school authorities asked them to teach their child at home until the schools reopen, said Kamruzzaman Howladar, father of Mahiruzzaman, a first grader in Little Flowers Preparatory School, which also have students of class one.

His son was supposed to make the foundation of his education at this age, but lost five months due to the coronavirus epidemic, the father said adding it is not possible to teach children at home like the way they do in schools.

“The children will be overwhelmed with studies when the schools reopen. It would be good to extend the academic year to March or April. Otherwise, the children will miss out their learning in case they are auto-promoted to the next grade.”

They are not holding any class and have not given any directives to the parents, said Abdul Majed, principal of Little Stars Preparatory School in Mirpur 12.

“We’ll take initiatives according to the government directives and will inform the students and parents when the schools reopen,” he said.

bdnews24.com could not reach Zakir Hossain, state minister for primary and mass  education, Secretary Md Akram Hossain, Additional Secretary Alamgir Muhammed Mansurul Alam, and Md Fashiullah, director general of primary education, for their comments on the issue after repeated attempts.

The government has cancelled the central Primary Education Completion or PEC tests this year, State Minister Zakir told the journalists on Tuesday. The fifth graders will have to attend annual exams in their schools instead, he said.