COVID-19 in Tamil Nadu: Class X board exams rescheduled to June 15; free food at Chennai Amma canteens till May 31

Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education K A Sengottaiyan said that the government will make all necessary arrangements for students to write the exams without any hurdle. Not more than 10 students will be allowed to take up the exam in one classroom.




The Tamil Nadu Class X State Board exams will now be conducted from June 15 to June 25. Tamil Nadu Minister for School Education K A Sengottaiyan Tuesday said the decision had been taken after a discussion with Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami, Chief Secretary and other officials.

On asked what arrangements the government has made for students from containment zones, the minister said the situation will improve in the next 14 days, and that there are chances that many districts will come under the green zone.

“The government will make all necessary arrangements for students to write the exams without any hurdle. Not more than 10 students will be allowed to take up the exam in one classroom. There were 3,825 exam centres in the state and now it has been increased to 12,690. The exam centres will be within 5 km from the student’s residence and hence there are chances that the students will be taking up the exams in the schools they study in,” he said.

As per the revised schedule, the students will be taking up Language paper on June 15, English on June 17, Mathematics on June 19, Optional Language on June 20, Science on June 22, Social Science on June 24 and Vocational on June 25.

Sengottaiyan said the Class XII paper evaluation will take place on May 27 and it might go on for seven to ten days. The results are expected later that week.

The exams which were supposed to be held from June 1 to June 12 evoked strong criticism from opposition parties, teachers, and educationalists who questioned the necessity of conducting the exams under the pandemic situation. Opposition leader M K Stalin said that the government is putting the students and the parents under a lot of stress. He said, “No one is asking the government to cancel the exams but not to conduct in this panic situation.”

Free food at Chennai Amma canteens till May 31

Tamil Nadu Minister for Municipal Administration, Rural Development and Implementation of Special Programme, S P Velumani announced on Tuesday that all 407 Amma Canteens in Chennai will be serving free meals three times a day until May 31 during the lockdown.

Assembly of more than five persons in public places prohibited till May 31

Commissioner of Police, A K Viswanathan, in a circular on Tuesday, announced the extension of the order prohibiting gatherings of more than five persons in public places from May 18 till May 31 in the jurisdiction of the Greater Chennai police limits. Any person violating the order will be subject to prosecution under IPC.

Seven Shramik Special trains depart from state

Seven Shramik Special trains, carrying over a thousand migrant workers each, departed from Tamil Nadu for their respective states on Tuesday.

A train bound for Bihar departed from Tiruppur station at 1.30 pm while a second train between Bihar and Thanjavur departed from Thanjavur station at 2.25 pm. A third train heading to Bihar departed from Tirur station at 4.05 pm while a fourth train bound for Hatia departed from Tiruppur station at 5.30 pm.

A fifth train between Bihar and Chennai departed from the Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M G Ramachandran Station at 8 pm while a sixth train between Jaipur and Coimbator departed from Coimbatore station at 6 pm. Another train bound for Deoria Sadar departed from Tiruvallur station at 5.50 pm.

All the passengers were thermally screened before boarding and were instructed to maintain social distancing while boarding the train and while travelling.

State toll at 84 after three deaths

Tamil Nadu on Tuesday recorded 601 cases on Tuesday, taking the total to 12,448. Among these, 552 cases were reported from Chennai, putting the city’s tally at 7672. Around 10,333 samples were tested for COVID-19 today, while 489 patients were discharged following treatment.

There are 7,466 active cases in Tamil Nadu, and so far 3,48,174 samples have been tested.

The state recorded three deaths today, taking the State toll to 84. All three of them, who were aged above 60 years died of comorbidities.

Apart from Chennai, 22 cases were reported in Chengalpattu today. Twenty three passengers who returned from Dubai tested positive. Similarly, 13 passengers who returned from Dubai, Kuwait, and Malaysia tested initially negative and today tested positive. One passenger who returned from the Maldives also tested positive.

Apart from this, 49 passengers from Maharashtra and one from Kerala tested positive today. So far 54 passengers from other countries have tested positive and they are in Airport quarantine. Two people are in Railway quarantine.

Among the districts in Tamil Nadu, Dharmapuri has the least number of COVID-19 cases with five cases till date, while Chennai has the highest with 7,672 cases. Chengalpattu district, which lies close to Chennai is the second highest with 560 cases.

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