The Tamil Nadu government on Tuesday announced that all students from Classes 1 to 8 in all schools will be considered ‘pass’, based on the Right To Education Act amid the second wave of the coronavirus in the country. The Directorate of Primary School Education also said that they will make announcements regarding the reopening of schools after the lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 is relaxed. In a circular, the Directorate of School Education said, “The district education officers are instructed to inform the headmasters of all the schools under their control that the students of Classes 1 to 8 from all schools are declared all pass based on Right to Education Act.”

The circular cited clause 2, Section 16 of RTE, 2009 which says, “No student studying till Class 8 should be withheld. All students should be declared pass. The students should not drop out of school.” The district education officers should also ensure that schools take efforts to maintain a pass register for the students, the circular said. “All the district education officers should send a report on the measures taken by them to this effect to deesections@gmail.com,” it added.

As far as reopening of the schools was concerned, the circular said that details will be announced once the lockdown is relaxed. Further announcements will also be made about when students can collect their free textbooks and other school essentials. Till now, the Tamil Nadu government has said that board exams will be conducted for Class 12 students once the spread of the coronavirus reduces.The Tamil Nadu government also formed a committee to conduct Class 12 board exams after the pandemic and said that the committee will decide on awarding marks to Class 10 students. The state government earlier cancelled the board exams for Classes 9, 10 and 11. The state is also making efforts to improve the quality of Kalvi TV to help more students who are receiving education virtually.