Karnataka SSLC Exams 2021: Education Minister Suresh Kumar assures parents need not worry

Bengaluru, July 19: The two-day Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or class 10 exams began across the state on Monday, amid COVID-19 concerns. As many as 8.76 lakh students have registered for the examination.

This is for the second consecutive year that the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is conducting the SSLC examinations amid the pandemic.

"I am a little nervous, but I have prepared well for the exam. I am happy with the government's decision," says a student.

Speaking to media, S Suresh Kumar, Karnataka Minister for Primary and Secondary Education said,''Today, the positivity rate is 1.3% and we have improvised SOPs. We have increased personnel. I assure parents that they need not worry about these exams. We are taking care of these children.''

Due to COVID-19 situation, for the first time, the examinations have been reduced from six days to two days, with students writing one paper for three subjects per day.

On Monday, students are writing the exam for core subjects mathematics, science and social science, while on July 22 there will be exams for languages such as Kannada, English, Hindi, Sanskrit.

The department this year has increased the number of examination centres and teachers on duty, Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board officials have said, adding that as many as 1.19 lakh staff have been deployed for 73,064 exam halls in 4,885 centres across the state.

Special arrangements have been made for 23 students who have tested positive for COVID-19, to write the exams at the COVID Care Centres in their respective districts.

All the necessary arrangementshave been made at the exam centres keeping the pandemic situation in mind, wherein only 12 students, one per bench, will be seated in a classroom and those with symptoms will be allowed to take the exam in a separate room, officials said.

All the staff involved in examination duty have received at least one dose of vaccination, the official added.

The exam will be in the form of multiple-choice questions and the students will have to mark the right answers on the Optical Mark Reading (OMR) sheet given to them.

Wishing all the students appearing for SSLC exams good luck, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in a tweet said, "I urge my young friends to relax and focus on exams. I assure parents that our government has made all arrangements to ensure exams are held safely."

Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar too in a tweet assured parents that the exam centres are safe for students and the government has taken all necessary measures to conduct the exams in a safe environment.