SHILLONG: The first of the remaining three papers of HSSLC examination, Statistics, was held at the lone centre at Shillong College in the city on Monday strictly following health protocols.
Besides their preparation for the exam, the eight candidates who appeared for the Statistics paper had to keep in mind the safety guidelines. They were early for the 10 am exam so that they have enough time to sanitise themselves.
It was difficult to read on the masked faces of the students whether they were happy that finally the HSSLC tension would be over, but their eyes looked worried, which was normal on exam day; and curious as police personnel and college authorities carried on with the guidelines.Thermal screening, disinfecting the shoes, at the main gate and hand sanitising were followed by another round of shoe sanitisation before the candidates could get into the classroom.
The eight students were divided into two groups of six and two and were asked to sit in two rooms. When asked, college authorities said the temperature of two students was on the higher side and they were given a separate room.
Doormats with shoe disinfectants were kept outside the two classrooms. The two invigilators were wearing gloves while distributing the question papers.
The less number of candidates for Statistics exam was a relief for the college. “Tomorrow (Tuesday) and day after we have more students – 48 and 140, respectively. So we have asked students to come two hours before the exams start as the safety protocols will take time,” said vice-principal I Kharkrang. The remaining exams are music and physical education on Tuesday and Mathematics on Wednesday.
Kharkrang said there are 169 candidates for Mathematics, of whom five were absent for a long time and 24 have opted for exam centres in their respective districts.
“Avoid washroom,” was the vice-principal’s direction to the students.
When asked, she explained, “Of course if a student wants to use washroom, we will not stop. But they should not go out unnecessarily. Every time they use the washroom, they have to go through the sanitising protocols.”
Principal L Pathaw said the college is thankful to MBoSE for its help with thermal scanner, sanitisers, gloves and masks.
“We are also doing our bit as we cannot expect everything from the government. We will give masks to students who are not carrying one and we have procured sanitisers too,” he added.
But Pathaw admitted that the real challenge would be during admission and the college would seek help from police to manage the crowd.
“We cannot go online as many students from rural areas come for admission. Forms will be given out from counters here,” he said.
With many parents reluctant to send their wards outside the state for higher studies in this time of pandemic, Pathaw is expecting more candidates during admission.
The principal said two students from Manipur could not appear for the ongoing examination and that “I have spoken to MBoSE and it said it would make arrangements”.
For the exam on Wednesday, the college will have two extra classrooms for students with high temperature or any symptom of COVID-19. There will be 16 invigilators on the day.
