Amid pandemic peak, how St. Joseph's Convent Girls High School in Bengaluru is organising SSLC exam

Bengaluru, June 25: Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, that lists India 4th in the world in terms of highest virus affected cases, class 10 board exams for over eight lakh students began in Karnataka today.

Despite concerns over safety of students, the state board decided to go ahead with the pending board exams in the state.

State Education Minister Suresh Kumar ensured the safety of the students during the exam as he said, "Children's safety is a top priority".

As it was assured that the basic norms will be followed by every exam centre to prevent virus spread, here is what St. Joseph's Convent Girls High School has taken the virus precaution measures.

In the St. Joseph's Convent Girls High School, one of the SSLC exam centres in Bengaluru, a total of 464 students is writing their board exam.

464 students writing exam, 20 will sit in one class. 2 rooms for those from containment zones&those who are unwell. Working for last 3 weeks to get everything in place. Ensuring they maintain social distancing, wear mask&sanitise: Principal, St. Joseph's Convent Girls High School pic.twitter.com/Chp0Vux2ao

— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2020

Karnataka: S. Suresh Kumar, Primary Education Minister visited a School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination centre in Bengaluru today. The SSLC exams have commenced from today; about 8,48,203 students are appearing for the exams. pic.twitter.com/c14vtUVNjW

— ANI (@ANI) June 25, 2020

The Principal of the school has said that the school authority has been working for the last 3 weeks to get everything in place. The Principal has given the detail that 20 students will sit in one class while separate rooms will be provided for the students who are from containment zones and those who are unwell. Also, the Principal ensured all that all the basic norms will be followed which include testing each student with thermal scanner, student will be asked to use sanitisers, mask will be provided in case any student forgets to bring it.

Also, the govt of the state has requested the parents and guardians of the students to maintain social distancing.

State Education Minister Suresh Kumar said, "I feel this is a duty that is being performed by the state government. In our state, 10th standard is a milestone in a student's life.

We consulted many people and decided to hold the examinations. We have submitted an SOP to the High Court which gave a green signal".

Earlier, the state government decided to go ahead with exams while the parents, students, political parties expressed their fear of health risk during the exams.

The centres opened at 7:30 am today and the exams would be conducted from June 25 to July 4, 2020, for the papers not conducted due to pandemic outbreak.

The Karnataka CM visited and inspected many schools which were allotted as centres to students. The entry of the public has been banned near the premises of schools to ensure the safety of the students and staff. Moreover, Police has been appointed to avoid crowding near centres.

While states like Telangana and Andhra Pradesh cancelled their state exams and announced that they would assess students based on their past performance, Karnataka, on the other hand, is conducting the exam.

With 397 fresh cases the number reaches 10,118 in Karnataka, while the death toll stands at 164 with 14 deaths have been reported in last 24 hours.