With a majority of Class 10 students unwilling to take the risk and travel to centres to give the mock Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination, many school managements, both government and private, have decided not to hold a dry run. The State government has scheduled these examinations on July 15 and July 17.
H.K. Manjunath, president, High School Assistant Masters’ Association, said that they have requested the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) to make the test mandatory in only one or two schools in the taluk. “Many schools are not conducting the test as we do not want to lose the gains we have made in curtailing the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no need for schools to encourage crowding during these times,” he said.
Students are also unwilling to risk contracting COVID-19 days before the SSLC examination scheduled on July 19 and 22.
D. Shashi Kumar, General Secretary, Associated Managements of Primary and Secondary Schools in Karnataka, said that most private schools have already conducted mock examinations online. “We have given detailed instructions to students on how to attempt the examination. There is no need to put students’ health at risk during the pandemic,” he said.
Not compulsory
V. Anbu Kumar, Commissioner for Public Instruction, said that it was not compulsory to hold the mock test and the decision on whether to do so should be left to the school headmaster. “School managements or teachers cannot force any student to come and attend the mock examination,” he said.
Schools that do wish to go ahead with a dry run can call only 15 students per day and a maximum of six students can be seated in each classroom. “Students can also take the mock test from their homes,” sad Mr. Kumar.
Hall tickets
Meanwhile, many parents have complained to the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board alleging that private schools are not issuing hall tickets to their children due to non-payment of fees for the 2020-2021 academic year.
The All India Democratic Students’ Organisation, Karnataka State Committee in a letter to the State government has urged officials to intervene immediately and resolve the issue in the interests of students and parents.
“Students are writing exams in midst of tremendous mental pressure, this move only increases their mental agony,” the organisation said in a statement.
