There is no need to expect any change in the Malayali habit of finding faults and flaws in anything and turning it into a controversy. The controversy and protests over the timing of the higher secondary exams are now on the rise. The timetable for the plus one and plus two exams has been released. The exams are scheduled to be held in the afternoon. The teachers' organisations have demanded that this should be reconsidered and the exams should be arranged in the morning. The reasons they point out for this are that- The month of March is a very hot season. The afternoon exams will tire out the children. Apart from this, March is also the fasting season. For children belonging to the Muslim community, the afternoon exams will be tough because of fasting. The argument is that it would be desirable to conduct the exam in the morning for these two reasons.

One thing to remember here is that the SSLC exam is scheduled in the morning. Around 4.5 lakh students are preparing to appear for the Class 10 exams. Wouldn't it be difficult for this category of students if the SSLC exam is postponed to noon? Those who are appearing for the class 10 exams are only one or two years younger than higher secondary students. Summer and heat apply equally to everyone. It is not right to simply create controversy in the name of exams as those who observe fasting will be present even among class 10 students. March is the exam month across the country. For a long time, the year-end exams have been held in the month of March. The academic year has been arranged across the country in such a way that the exams are completed in March, the results are announced in May and higher studies begin in June.

Usually, this doesn't change whether the climate is hot or cold. This was indeed changed at a time when the Covid pandemic overwhelmed the entire world. On normal occasions, examination dates fixed once are not changed later unless it is an emergency situation. That's better for the students as well. Years ago, the exams were arranged in such a way that they could be completed in a short span of time. The class 10 exams used to be completed in six days. College exams also had fixed days and schedules. The system of arranging exams by giving breaks was introduced to reduce the mental stress of the students. Students now have the opportunity to revise the lessons repeatedly and write the exam without any pressure.

The exams cannot be postponed as the summer will be heavy after March. The three-hour exam does not seem to be a big problem for the students in the current circumstances. It is not understood why the teachers' organisations are intolerant of mid-day exams. It is argued that it will be difficult to pack the answer sheets of the exam slated to be held in the afternoon and deliver them to the respective centres. Won't this problem apply even if the Class 10 exams are postponed to noon? The exams are conducted in the morning and afternoon taking into account the space of the schools and the number of teachers for invigilation. Therefore, those who are creating the controversy must be told that the exams should be conducted as scheduled already.