Punjab to promote students of classes 5, 8, 10 without exams
Chandigarh: Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the Punjab government on Thursday announced that students of classes 5, 8 and 10 will be promoted to the next class without exams.
A decision on the class 12 exams by the Punjab State Examination Board (PSEB), which has already been postponed, will be taken later based on the emerging situation.
These decisions were taken during a COVID-19 review meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, according to a government statement here.
The announcements came a day after the central government announced the cancellation of class 10 exams and the postponement of class 12 exams conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education.
Singh on Thursday said that while the state had closed all educational institutions till April 30, bringing down the positivity rate in the 11-20 age group, relief was needed to be provided to school children going for exams.
For class 5 students, since exams for 4 out of 5 subjects have already been conducted, results may be declared by the Punjab State Education Board (PSEB) on the basis of marks obtained by students in respect of 4 subjects, ignoring the 5th one, it said.
Results for class 8 and 10 may be declared on the basis of pre-board examinations or internal assessment of respective schools, the CM directed the education department.
Singh, who had earlier this week written to the Union Education Minister on the issue of exams, also expressed satisfaction at the Centre's decision to postpone the class 12 CBSE exams and cancellation of class 10 CBSE exams in view of the pandemic.
The meeting was also attended by Medical Education Minister OP Soni, Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla, Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan and DGP Dinkar Gupta.
The PSEB last month had postponed the exams of classes 10 and 12 by about a month.
The exams of class 10 were scheduled to start from May 4 and that of class 12 were to commence from April 20.
Punjab on Wednesday had reported 63 deaths and 3,329 fresh COVID-19 infections.
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11-year-old dies by suicide after sexual assault in Bareilly; accused arrested
Bareilly (UP) (PTI): A 26-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting an 11-year-old girl, who later died by suicide due to trauma, police said on Wednesday.
The post-mortem report confirmed sexual assault and multiple injuries on the minor's body, including bite marks and nail scratches. The cause of death was found to be hanging, they said.
According to ASP (South) Anshika Verma, the incident came to light on 27 April, when the girl, a Class 8 student, was found hanging at her home in Deoria Abdullaganj village under the Mirganj police station area. Initially, the family reported the death as suicide and was reluctant to pursue police action.
"The autopsy report changed the course of the investigation. It confirmed sexual assault and noted severe physical trauma. The cause of death was confirmed as hanging," Verma said.
A breakthrough in the case came from the statement of the victim's younger sister, who told police that the accused, Zeeshan (26), a resident of the same village, frequently loitered near the minor's school and allegedly gave her small sums of money to keep his interactions with her a secret, she said.
Police said that on the day of the incident, the accused allegedly lured the minor and assaulted her. Distressed by the incident, the child later took her own life while her mother was away, police said.
"Based on technical surveillance, CCTV footage, and statements from the family, we established Zeeshan's involvement. He was arrested near the Mirganj weekly market on Tuesday," they said.
