Rajan Neupane, a 12th grader at the East Police School, was happy after the National Examination Board decided to postpone the in-person tests scheduled to start on Sunday.

The board, following the government’s directives, on August 7, has postponed the examinations indefinitely. The decision came after its plan to conduct the tests in person drew widespread criticism. Hundreds of students and others concerned had taken to social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to express their displeasure over the government plans to conduct the tests in person. They had been demanding that the authorities either cancel, postpone or find alternative ways to conduct the exams.

But instead of finding alternative ways for conducting the exams, the board decided to go for an indefinite postponement. And the board is still in a wait and see mode before making any decision on how to conduct the exams. And examinees like Neupane have started worrying about when the tests are held. He plans to move to Canada for further studies after completing grade 12. And Neupane will not be able to enroll in the bachelor’s programme in the winter intake that begins in January if the tests are not held immediately. It takes at least two months for the board to publish the results.

As the coronavirus cases continue to soar and experts have warned of a third wave looming, the board conducting the tests in person anytime soon looks unlikely. The board will either have to conduct tests online or evaluate the students’ performance on the basis of internal assessment by their respective schools if it wants to settle the matter soon. “We will wait for a few weeks and see how the situation unfolds before taking any decision,” Jung Bahadur Aryal, spokesperson at the board, told the Post.

The students, however, want the board to conduct the tests virtually without delay. There are 374,000 students appearing for the grade 12 exams this year.

“If teaching-learning activities can be conducted online, why not the exams?” Neupane told the Post. “The board must come up with a decision considering the future of thousands of students like us.” The teachers agree with the students’ sentiments. They say further delay in the examinations would mean a loss of one whole year for the students. The grade 12 examinations were originally scheduled for May which were postponed to August this year. Last year the tests were held in November in the physical presence of students and the results were published two months later, in January-end. The grade 12 results are published by October in normal situations.

Last year’s delay in publishing the results affected the entire academic calendar of the university level. For instance, the medical and paramedical entrance exams that are normally held in November were delayed by eight months. The Medical Education Commission conducted the entrance exams in July. “Loss of a year is a big setback for students,” Heramba Raj Kandel, principal of Vishwa Niketan School, Tripureshwar, told the Post. “The world has adopted an open book examination. The examination board should adopt this assessment method without delay and conduct the tests through virtual medium.” He said the Covid-19 pandemic is not going to end anytime soon and the government authorities must be prepared accordingly.

Open book examination refers to a method of exam allowing students to consult textbooks, references or class notes while writing their exams.

Grade 12 students say many countries including India have learnt from last year’s pandemic and started conducting tests on time. India’s Central Board of Secondary Examination on July 30 published the grade 12 exam results.

“We completed our courses a couple of months back. Had the tests been conducted on time, we would have been waiting for results now,” Alisha Thapa, a student at Vishwa Niketan School, told the Post. “The board should hold the test immediately through alternative methods so that we don’t lose a year.”