Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) school board has instructed all Class 10 and Class 12 students to upload their mobile and Whatsapp numbers along with the application forms for conducting online examinations. The university board has instructed students to upload the details, along with email ids, by June 20.
AMU's Directorate of School Education, in a notification released on June 10, said: “All the students are directed to update their mobile numbers/Whatsapp number/email on their registration-cum-examination form available on the directorate website or controlled of examination website.”
The Directorate said that the date sheet for online exams will be notified 15 days before the examination date. Students have been instructed to update the details by June 20 as “the same will be used for conducting online examination”.
AMU, on June 2, had notified that “the remaining exams for Class 10 and Class 12 of the year 2020 conducted by AMU Board of Secondary and Senior Secondary Education will be held in online mode”.
The coronavirus outbreak has disrupted school board exams across the country. State boards as well as the Central Board of Secondary Education, or CBSE, are holding the postponed exams over June and July or have cancelled them altogether, especially for Class 10. No other school board appears to have proposed online exams for Class 10 and Class 12 students although many school systems are attempting to teach online.
The decision to conduct online examinations in institutions of higher education, such as Delhi University, has received heavy criticism from students and teachers who pointed to the unequal access to the internet as students hail from diverse backgrounds. During the protests, students had said that most of them lack the infrastructure facilities, such as laptops, smartphones, modems, required to attend examinations.