February 15: The current academic session will end in May this year due to Covid-19 pandemic. The government is preparing to publish the results of the final examination by May after adjusting the one-year course to four months.

Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Gopinath Mainali informed that the new academic session will be starting from June and the work to amend the education regulations is in the final stage.

Mainali at an interaction program organised by Education Journalists Group Nepal said, “All school-level examinations will be completed within May and new session will begin from June. We will publish new education regulations in a few days as it has already reached the final stage.”

He further stated that although this academic session is of 14 months, preparations should be made so that the next academic session will be completed in 10 months.

“At present, there is confusion mainly regarding the academic session, final examination and Grade 11 curriculum. The decision on the curriculum has been taken as per the court’s order while other confusions still persist,” he said.

He informed that the cabinet meeting on January 8 decided to make arrangements for conducting, managing, publishing and verifying the results of the Grade 10 examination by National Examinations Board (NEB) in collaboration with the provincial government.

Speaking at the program, Prof Dr Chandra Mani Poudel, the chief of NEB, said that the board will make examination calendar public according to the decision of the government.

“The academic session is decided by the government. As per the decision published in the Nepal Gazette, the board will hold a meeting and make public the calendar of Grade 10 and Grade 12 examinations,” he said, adding, “The board is capable of conducting and managing the examinations.” Furthermore, he informed that the examination forms for Grade 10 are open for registration while the forms for Grade 11 are in the process of being issued.

Meanwhile, school teachers have pointed to the challenge of finishing the curriculum in a short time and making learning effective. Bhim Dhungana, mayor of Nilkantha Municipality, Dhading, said that he is worried about how to complete the course as the class has just started.

He pointed out that the federal government should pay attention not only to the examinations but also ensure the effective learning of the students.

Similarly, Geeta Kafle, principal of Nandi Secondary School, Naxal, said that it would be difficult to complete the course by May as the schools have just resumed classes.