Amid the rising coronavirus COVID-19 cases in Karnataka, over eight lakh students appear for their Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or 10th standard exams, which resumed on Thursday (June 25) onwards.
Karnataka Primary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar visited an examination centre in Bengaluru to take stock of the situation. It is expected that 8,48,203 students would to sit for the examinations.
The Karnataka government's decision to conduct SSLC exams led strong protests by parents and political parties and several parents came to the examination centres on Wednesday to check the social distancing norms adopted at the exam centres.
Meanwhile, a criminal miscellaneous petition has been filed by an NGO against Minister Kumar for conducting the exams amid the outbreak. The petitioner has sought the registration an FIR against the minister.
Interestingly, Karnataka's neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have cancelled their board exams due to coronavirus pandemic keeping in mind the safety of the students.
The state government's decision to conduct the exams has left many surprised because it has come at a time when the Karnataka government is planning to impose a second round of lockdown in Bengaluru to curb the spread of the virus in the city. Karnataka's COVID-19 tally crossed the 10,000-mark on Wednesday.
The SSLC exams will be held across 2879 centres in the state. The state government has set up additional 330 centres to maintain social distancing norms. Students from containment zones will also be allowed to sit in the exams. According to Karnataka government, those having symptoms of the virus will be seated in separate rooms.
Students have been asked to wear a mask throughout the examination and bring their own water bottles.
Former chief minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said the exams should have been postponed due to coronavirus outbreak.
