Forcing Indian Government To Postpone School Examinations, Hundreds Of People Hold Demonstrations

Illustration (Unsplash / Andy Falconer)

JAKARTA - Hundreds of people in various major cities of India are staging massive demonstrations today. They reject the government's reckless plan to force students to take school exams amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The demonstrators felt that the policy owners had turned a blind eye to the increase in COVID-19 cases in India. This is because the number of the spread of COVID-19 is high. So far India has confirmed 3,387,500 cases of COVID-19 transmission while 61,529 cases have died.

During the action, protesters demanded the government see the reality, and stop forcing students to take school exams. The demonstration then led to clashes with police who wanted to disperse the masses in the city of Ahmedabad.

Unite your voice with lakhs of suffering students. #SpeakUpForStudentSafety from 10am onwards. Let's make the Govt listen to the students. लाखों परेशान छात्रों के साथ अपनी आवाज़ जोड़िए। #SpeakUpForStudentSafety आज 10 बजे से। आइए, सरकार से छात्रों की बात सुनने की माँग करें। pic.twitter.com/NBri5lx8Ff

- Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) August 28, 2020

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, the leader of the opposition party, in his tweet on Twitter urged the government not to make students the victims of its immeasurable policies. "It is important for the government to listen to students," he said.

Even so, the Minister of Education of India, Ramesh Pokhriyal denied sacrificing students. According to him, it is precisely because the postponement of student exams will be burdensome. Which, procrastination will make them more and more behind the lesson.

Previously, the school exams had been canceled twice, namely in April and May. The government feels the need to force school exams to be held so that students don't miss lessons too far. But that decision invited waves of resistance.

In contrast, parents and students want the exam to be postponed until conditions are truly safe. Moreover, some students find it difficult to travel to the exam site because transportation and lockdown restrictions still apply in some areas.