Follow guidelines; allot exam centres within 8 km, urge govt school teachers

CHENNAI: Since board exams for classes 11 and 12 are going on, Rajeshwari* a government school teacher in Dindigul, has been stressed and anxious. Reason: She has to make it to the exam centre on time from her residence, which is located about 18 km away.

She starts as early as 7 am to reach the centre at 8:30 am for invigilation duty. And to catch a bus during peak hours in the morning is quite a task.

Board exams for classes 11 and 12 commenced on March 14 and 13 respectively. It starts at 10 am and teachers are expected to report by 9 am. For conducting the exams, the education department along with Directorate of Government Examination (DGE) has deployed several teachers for invigilation and flying squad duties.

Though department guideline indicates not to deploy teachers for invigilation over 8 km away from the school they work in, government teachers allege that the instruction is seldom followed. In most cases, teachers are randomly allotted exam centres, which are even 20 km away.

“Last year, after Bachelor in Training (BT) assistants were deployed for Class 12 exam duty in far off centres, several teachers reported it. Hence, this year, allotments are better,” admitted Nagendran*, a government school teacher in Villupuram.

However, the condition is worse for teachers who use public transportation instead of private vehicles. “Considering factors like availability and frequency of buses, and teachers’ health, the department must follow guidelines and allot invigilation duty within 8 km,” requested Sumathi* a government school teacher in Chengalpattu.

With Class 10 board exams to begin on April 6, teachers request DGE and the education department to follow guidelines and avoid allotting centres at far off locations.

(*names changed)