98% appear for CBSE exam, but shadow of violence looms
DELHI RIOTS Some students who could not appear had either left with their families last week or did not step out of their homes; at several centres in riot-hit areas, parents sat outside till the exam was over
nNEW DELHI: Class 12 student Mohammad Kaif’s dream is to be a doctor. He was preparing for the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) examinations when violence hit his north-east Delhi neighbourhood of Mustafabad, forcing his family to flee to their village in Uttar Pradesh.
On Monday, he had to give his physics exam. But fear prevented his family from allowing him to return and give the exam.
“We fled to our village on the same day when a neighbour was killed by a mob in our area. My family is very scared. They are even thinking of shifting permanently to the village. I am just hoping I can give the next exam scheduled for March 7. I don’t know how I will give my medical entrance exam without completing the class 12 exams on time,” 18-year-old Kaif told HT over phone.
Kaif was among the 2% students who did not appear for the CBSE class 12 physics and class 10 music exams on Monday in north-east Delhi.
The area had witnessed largescale communal violence over the last week. In lieu of this, the Board had postponed exams scheduled for last week, but decided to stick to the schedule from Monday arguing that any further delay would affect those aspiring for different professional courses. The Board, however, had announced that it will give another opportunity to students from north-east Delhi who could not give the exams from when the violence broke.
While many of the students who missed Monday’s exam had fled their homes, some were too scared to step out to give the exam.
Owais Malik, 18, a resident of Indira Vihar, said he had been traumatised since he saw a man being beaten up by a group of people near his house on last
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I asked my friends to send me notes on Whatsapp. I revised the syllabus from whatever I could manage to gather. I could not sleep last night because of tension
ROHAN ARYA, class 12 student
Tuesday. “I am not being able to concentrate on my studies. I cannot forget that scene. I do not know if I will give the next exam as well. I might appear in the next chance the CBSE is planning to give in north-east Delhi,” he said.
At Gyandeep Vidya Bhawan School in Yamuna Vihar, 22 students missed the exam on Monday. Seema Gupta, head of the school (HOS), said, “We have informed the native schools of these children to trace them. Majority of them are enrolled through distant learning mode.”
Although heavy security was deployed outside over 60 examination centres in north-east Delhi, tension and fear were palpable among students, parents and school officials on Monday. Despite at least two male and one female police personnel stationed outside each examination centre, parents refused to leave after dropping their children and waited till exam got over.
At Victoria Public School in Brijpuri—which was attacked last Monday---every time the security guard came out, parents outside inquired about their children.
Tarun Singh, a businessman from Shalimar Bagh, said, “My son was writing his exam when the riots broke out outside this school on last Monday. He was so scared to come back here today. I have decided not to leave till he finishes his exam.”
School in-charge Madhu Sharma said that many parents requested her to take care of their kids. “The school was under attack last Monday and that’s why both parents and students are scared. Some parents today requested me not let their children leave the school campus if anything happens,” she said.
Even students who gave the exam on Monday said their preparations were affected due to the violence.
Rohan Arya, 18, a resident of Maujpur, said that his family had to leave to a relative’s place in Noida and he had no books to study. “I asked my friends to send me notes on Whatsapp. I revised the syllabus from whatever I could manage to gather. I could not sleep last night because of tension,” he said.
Arsh Malik, 17, said that he could not take last time guidance from his tutor as his tuition centre was set on fire by the rioters in Yamuna Vihar. “I am just hoping to clear this exam. I completely forgot what I had studied throughout the year due to the fear and tension,” he said.