Million March: Move to allot more time for students

The State Government is studying a proposal to allot more time for examinees in case the students arrival at the examination centres is delayed for various reasons.

Those conducting the examinations are being consulted to consider time flexibility.

A proposal to this effect is under study, informed Minister for Secondary Education K Parthasarathi today.

The Minister sought the cooperation from all concerned to postpone the scheduled ‘Million March’ to facilitate the students to take their examination without any tension. Mr Parthasarathi also said that examinations were being held considering the students' prospects ruling out any political compulsions. He appealed to the political parties and the Telangana Political Joint Action Committee to cooperate in the best interests of the innocent students. 

As the proposed date of the ‘Million March’ on March 10, is fast approaching, sleep eludes the parents who are getting nervous by the day, Mr Parthasarathi said.

More than the examinations, the million dollar question is whether the examinees will reach the examination centres in one piece and return safely, the Minister stated.

“Earlier there used to be emphasis on preparation, now uppermost in the minds of parents is the concentration on safety aspect of their children who may be caught in the cross fire between the police and the protestors particularly in view of  a travelling distance of over 10 km in most of the cases,” he said.

Meanwhile, some parents expressed fears that leading and important entrance tests will not wait for students because of the issue, competitive tests across the country will go on as stipulated.

The missing Telangana students, who fail to take the 'test' will facilitate students from other states to have a cakewalk to get into prestigious institutions, they said. “Others will have an edge over the Telangana students if they fail to take the competitive tests which are held as scheduled” was the common fear expressed by the parents.

If the March 10 programme is not postponed, the downfall of Telangana students is imminent, some educationists opined.

Those taking the exam on that day would be Intermediate second year students, CBSE tenth class students.

The State Government taking a lenient attitude against the protestors came in for severe criticism from all sections.

Earlier, City Police Commissioner A K Khan advised students appearing for CBSE, ICSE and Intermediate exams and their parents to reach exam centres in advance and go for alternate travel arrangements. Intermediate, ICSE and CBSE exams would be held at over 1,000 centres in the city.

Section 144 will be in force at examination centres. Rallies and protests have been prohibited on that day. Besides the city police, paramilitary forces from other districts would also be deployed in the city.