KATHMANDU, OCTOBER 7 The government has allowed educational institutions to conduct exams for students of all levels by ensuring social distancing and other safety measures, enforced by federal, provincial and local levels, in examination centres. The decision was taken in the last Cabinet meeting. Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said at a press conference today that the government also gave permission to vocational training institutions to conduct training for participants, but the number of participants should not exceed 25. Registrar of Tribhuvan University Peshal Dahal told THT that TU had already conducted engineering and MPhil exams and was preparing to start other stalled examinations from the second week of November. He said TU was trying to ensure that all students appeared in designated examination centres, but the university would make exception for those who could not appear for exams due to COVID-19. “We fear that if COVID-19 continues to rise, some students might not be able to appear in the designated examination centres. For such students we will have to make alternative arrangement,” he said. He added that TU was considering allowing students to appear in the nearest examination centres if they failed to appear in the designated centre due to the pandemic. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology Deepak Sharma said the ministry gave its nod to academic institutions, particularly universities, to conduct exams by following the government’s health protocols. “If universities think physical appearance of students is viable, they can conduct exams requiring students to appear in exam centres, but if they think that they can conduct online examination, project based examination or open book examination, they can do that,” he said. He added that in some academic and vocational institutions where examinees are few, they can require them to appear in examination halls ensuring safety measures, including social distancing rules. Sharma said the process of conducting Grade XII examinations would be decided only after holding discussion with officials of multiple ministries and institutions, as those examinations involve multiple agencies. Educationist Mana Prasad Wagle, however, said that the government’s decision to allow academic institutions to conduct examinations at a time when cases of COVID-19 were rising sharply was wrong, as it could increase the risk of transmission of the disease. “The government could have allowed institutions to take examinations in April when COVID was spreading at a slower rate. “Today, more than 3,000 cases of the contagion were diagnosed. The number is likely to rise in the coming days,” he said.