Sujan Basnet, a first-year student of Bachelor of Business Studies from Kathmandu, was surprised to see the crowd when he reached Shanker Dev Campus at Putalisadak on Monday for his exam.

“I was hoping that police or college authorities would conduct the exam in a systematic way, adhering to the health protocols. But the scene at the campus was the same as though there was no Covid-19 pandemic,” said Basnet.

“I was glad that our first-year exams were finally taking place. But when I reached the exam centre, I got afraid that I might catch the virus,” Basnet added.

After almost 19 months, Tribhuvan University has started conducting the stalled exams of various programmes including BBS, BSc, BEd and BA in person.

The National Examinations Board recently published the timetable of Grade 12 exams, which will be conducted in person from August 15.

Many say the decision to hold in-person exams amid a fresh surge in Covid-19 cases could put the lives of students at risk.

Students are already in fear.

Nisha Khadka, a 12th grader, is worried about having to sit the exams amid the threat of the virus.

“I am not vaccinated. Ever since I heard about the new variant of coronavirus in the country, I've been feeling anxious,” said Khadka, who is 17.

The Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday confirmed the detection of a new mutation in the Delta variant in Nepal.

The ministry confirmed that the Delta variant was detected in all 47 samples collected from various parts of the country from May till mid-July. The ministry also said that a new mutation—K417N—was found in three of the 47 samples.

Nepal on Friday reported 2,467 new coronavirus cases, taking the nationwide infection tally to 693, 109 according to the Health Ministry.

Likewise, as many as 1,144 people tested positive in a total of 4,878 antigen tests.

The ministry did not mention the death toll over the past 24 hours. It, however, reported 27 Covid-19-related fatalities, which included the number of deaths managed by the Nepal Army on different dates.

The nationwide death toll has now reached 9,834. The number of active cases stands at 31,014.

Public health experts have already warned of a possible catastrophe, as Nepal’s case positivity rate is still too high, and people are defying safety protocols while the government has failed to enforce the prohibitory orders strictly.

The decision to conduct in-person exams amid a surge in Covid-19 cases has been met with online pushback from many students. However, authorities seem dead set on holding the exams.

Dipak Sharma, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, says it is impossible to adopt alternative ways of conducting exams in Nepal.

“Taking exams without proper monitoring may raise questions over their validity. Also, many students have only access to mobile phones but not laptops or computers. Taking tests on mobile phones is not easy,” said Sharma.

“In the current scenario, taking proper precautions like wearing the mask, using sanitisers and maintaining mandated distance during exams is the only option,” he said, noting that students have already lost a lot of time due to Covid-19

Durga Aryal, member secretary of the National Examinations Board, said they will analyse the situation and conduct the exams in the safest way possible.

“We have made plans which we will implement after analysing the Covid-19 situation so that no student has to risk their life while sitting their exams,” he said.