Avoidable anxiety: Is there an alternative to holding exams amidst a pandemic?

In addition to three natural seasons − summer, monsoon and winter – India also has two other seasons that are human inventions. The latter seasons are arguably more important because they host two institutions central to our almost-vishvaguru civilisation – elections and examinations. Each of these five seasons can cause death and devastation, but while the others do so only when they are extreme or abnormal, the examination season is unique in causing deaths “normally” every single year.

According to the National Crime Records Bureau, “Failure in Examination” caused 2,625 suicide deaths in 2018 (up from 2,540 in 2017). This starkly minimal figure obviously excludes unsuccessful suicide attempts, nervous breakdowns etc. and thus seriously understates the suffering that individuals and families go through because of exam-related stress.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic has overlapped with the 2020 examination season, institutions conducting examinations should do their best to minimise the hugely increased stress levels. The simplest measure is to postpone examinations indefinitely, awaiting the return of exam-worthy conditions. This is the easiest solution for stand-alone examinations like entrance exams, and for intermediate or non-terminal exams (like those for any semester except the final semester of a degree programme).

However, indefinite postponement is not an obvious...

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