Following in the footsteps of the National Examination Board, Tribhuvan University has also published exam routines for in-person tests for its students, although there are no signs that the threat of Covid-19 will subside anytime soon.

The oldest university in the country announced that exams for final year students under different faculties will start next month. Students from fourth year Bachelors of Science, Management and Education will sit for their exams from December 13.

The announcement comes after the National Examination Board decided to conduct in-person tests for the grade 12 students from November 24. Though examinees will have to take a shorter-than-usual exam (only for 40 percent of their grade in each subject), they have to go to the exam centre to take the tests.

Unlike in the past, students can, however, sit for the exams either at their own schools or others in their hometown. The additional 40 percent marks will be derived from the students’ performance in their grade 11 exam, and the remaining 20 percent from evaluation by their respective schools.

The schools have already been asked to submit marks for the internal evaluation to the board before the written exams commence.

Students from Tribhuvan University will have to sit for exams, which have not been shortened. However, they are free to sit for the exam at a college close to their hometown. For example, a student enrolled in a college in Kathmandu can sit for her exam at any college affiliated to the university in their hometown.

The biggest university in the country has over 1,100 constituent and affiliated colleges, operated by the community or run privately, across the nation with at least one in each district.

The Cabinet on October 5 allowed all boards, academic institutions and universities to conduct examinations. Following the Cabinet decision, boards and universities have started conducting exams that have remained pending for several months.

Pushpa Raj Joshi, examination controller at the university, said the examinations will be conducted maintaining a proper social distancing and adhering to other safety measures. “Some of our exams have been pending for over eight months now,” he said. “There is no alternative but to conduct the tests to prevent further loss of time in the academic year.”

The university is preparing to increase the numbers of examination centres compared to the past to ensure social distancing. Over 415,000 students are currently enrolled in various courses offered by the university.

Different academic institutions are conducting in-person tests while experts have warned that the coronavirus situation could get worse in winter. November, December and January are the coldest months in Nepal. Over 2,500 new cases are being reported on a daily basis at present.

The total numbers of Covid-19 cases crossed the 200,000 mark on Wednesday with an addition of 2,569 new cases in the last 24 hours. As many as 1,174 people have already lost their lives due to Covid-19.

Education experts say it is already late to conduct the exams. They, however, say the university should have opted for the online exams to avoid the threat of transmission of the infection. “As exam routines have already been published, the university administration should adopt maximum precautions to make sure students are safe,” said Binay Kusiyait, a professor at Tribhuvan University.