Around 30 students from Swamy Vivekananda Primary and High School were shocked when they went to write their first SSLC exam on Wednesday. They were not allowed into the centre as they did not have hall tickets.
It was only when the parents began protesting outside the school that they realised that the school was unauthorised and the management had not even registered students for the exam.
Shocked at the turn of events, the parents rushed to the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) and the Department of Public Instruction to request them to allow the students to write the next exam. However, the department did not relent.
They pleaded with the department to take a “humanitarian” view as the students would lose a year.
Yashoda Bopanna, Director of KSEEB, refused to relent. “The school management approached the board only on Wednesday morning. If the students or parents had come to us earlier, we could have at least considered allowing them to write the exam as private candidates.”
School dodges queries
Noor Jha, a parent, said the school management kept dodging queries on hall tickets. Parents waited till late on Tuesday night at the school for the hall ticket, and the management assured them that they would get the hall tickets on Wednesday morning. “Even in the morning, the teachers kept saying that they would be allowed to write the exam. But, we began raising our voices around 9 a.m. when we learnt that the children may not be able to take it,” she said.
Bibi Asfiya, a student, said she was going to prepare for the next few exams. “My parents have told me to continue studying. I am hoping that we are allowed to write the exams,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Block Education Officer, South 4 Range, S.M. Ramesh, booked a criminal case against the school management for cheating the parents and teachers. Nagaraj, the head of the school, has been arrested on the charge of forgery and cheating.
