New Delhi, May 28 (IANS): Intensifying its protest demanding the cancellation of Class XII board examinations, the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress, staged a demonstration outside the Union Ministry of Education here on Friday.

The protest led by NSUI president Neeraj Kundan was joined by several activists wearing PPE kits and following the Covid protocols, raising slogans like 'Pahle Suraksha, Phir Pariksha' (safety first, then exams).

Kundan said, "Since the Central government announced its plan to conduct the Class XII board exams, NSUI has been demanding to find an alternative to physical examination."

He said that a few days back he wrote a letter to the Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, reminding him that the government has not yet come up with any guidelines to ensure the safety of those below the age of 18 years, and majority of the students fall in this category.

"We specifically warned the government that this (holding exams) could be life-threatening for the students. The government has already failed to procure adequate vaccines and there seems to be no definite plan for that.

"Now this lack of planning for the board exams will harm the academic year of these students. The only solution to save their academic year is to promote them on the basis of internal assessments, rather than wasting more time on discussing the examinations," the NSUI leader said.

Lakeshore Chugh, national secretary of the NSUI, said that they will also launch a Twitter campaign from Friday demanding the government to cancel the board exams, and find out some alternative ways to physical examination with the hashtag of #CancelExamsSaveLives.

Kundan said that NSUI has made its stand clear that nothing could be more important than the lives of the students, and the government must find an alternative solution rather than conducting the examinations.

"The students' body is against conducting the examinations in any form because while physical examination will risk the students' lives, every student does not have access to internet in case the exams are held online," Kundan said.

"The government must look at an alternative formula to grade the students as soon as possible. It can grade the students on the basis of their past performances, assignments or classroom assessments etc., but risking their lives is an insensitive decision," he added.