With the state government deciding to proceed with the Class 12 (Higher Secondary School Leaving Certificate) board examinations from Friday, the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE) has issued protocols to be followed in the examination centres.
MBOSE Joint Director M Marbaniang informed that two candidates will be allowed to sit at each end of a bench or according to whatever arrangement is made at the exam centres.
Marbaniang also said that use of masks shall be mandatory for the students.
“Only for identification by the invigilators may the candidates be asked to remove their masks for a brief period,” the official said.
In cases where candidates have a cough, fever or sore throat or who have come in contact with primary contacts of Covid-19 sufferers recently, such candidates should inform the officer-in-charge, who in turn shall provide separate rooms for such students.
If any candidate is found to be Covid-positive, only that particular hall in which he/she was sitting shall be closed down while the rest of the centre shall continue to function as normal. Such halls will be sanitised and closed and a reserved classroom shall be used for the next exam.
The Joint Director also informed that a total of 36,685 candidates from arts, science and commerce streams and elementary school teachers will appear for the HSSLC exams.
In the arts stream there are 26,402 candidates, with 3,761 in science and 2,336 in commerce. A total of 4,186 elementary school teachers will be appearing as well.
Shillong alone has 10,925 candidates spread across 30 examination centres. State-wide, there are 104 centres – 65 in Khasi-Jaiñtia Hills and 39 in Garo Hills.
There are 12 centres – eight in Khasi-Jaiñtia Hills, four in Garo Hills – for the elementary school teachers.