Amid arguments for and against conducting the SSLC exam, which is due to start on June 25, Minister for Primary and Secondary Education S. Suresh Kumar has maintained that adequate precautionary measures have been taken by the department and that students and parents need not worry.
Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) too, in a press release issued on Tuesday, said it has put in place various measures as per the Standard Operating Procedure. The department claimed that it had already distributed 18 lakh masks, at two per student.
The release further stated that 12,674 students, including children of migrants and those staying in hostels prior to the lockdown, had opted for change in exam centres, and for them the department had issued revised admission tickets.
The department has claimed that thermal scanners have been distributed to screen the temperature of students. The department has also decided to use the services of Scouts and Guides at the centres. The Health Department will deploy a health assistant and an Accredited Social Health Activist at each centre. As decided earlier, the students coming from containment zones will be allowed to sit for the exam in a “special room” and the invigilators in these rooms will be provided with N-95 masks. If a student tests positive, he or she will be allowed to appear for the supplementary exam as a “first attempt” candidate.
Backup centres
In another move, the department has identified one additional exam centre at the taluk level and two at the district level as reserved centres. In case any exam centre comes under a containment zone, students will be go to these centres. Those suffering from cold, fever or cough will be allowed to appear for the exam in a separate room.
Meanwhile, former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy demanded the State government put off the exam in the wake of the rising COVID-19 cases. He accused the State government of playing with the lives of lakhs of students, parents, and department employees. “Fearing a community spread, the Telangana and other governments have already cancelled the SSLC exam and allowed the students to pass. The Karnataka government could have taken the same decision or put off the exam till October,” he said.
