Karnataka all set to hold SSLC board examinations amid coronavirus scare
Free buses for students coming from Kasargod and Sulya
Bengaluru: Amid coronavirus scare in the state, the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board is all set to hold the Secondary School Leaving Certificate examination or 10th standard exam from Thursday with all precautionary measures in place.
The exam was supposed to take place on March 27 but due to the lockdown, it was postponed.
While a few neighboring states have given a general promotion to the 10th standard students due to coronavirus scare, the Karnataka government decided to hold the exam from June 25 to July 3.
"We are taking all precautionary measures to ensure the safety and security of the children in association with the home department and the health department," Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar told reporters on Wednesday.
"This examination is not a prestige issue for the government. This is the challenge we are accepting as our duty," he said.
As many as 8,48,203 children will appear for the examination at 2879 exam centers, education department officials said, adding that each examination hall will have only 18 to 20 students.
They said that 5,755 health check-up centers have been set up. The education department has roped in 81,265 employees to conduct the exam. This personnel will be present in the examination centers by 7 am, they added.
According to the education minister, adequate arrangements such as sanitizers and providing masks have been made at the centers.
He requested students to bring with them water bottles from home. For those who fail to bring it, water has been arranged at the centers.
Kumar said the police department will handle the safety and security arrangements whereas the health department will take care of sanitizing the examination halls.
"We will sanitize the exam halls every day after the exams are over. In addition to it, in every examination center physical education teachers are deployed to ensure social distancing among the students," Kumar said.
He pointed out that the photocopy centers, computer centers, and cyber cafes in the vicinity of the exam centers will remain shut till the exams are over.
Another important decision as per the standard operating procedure, which has been taken, is about the transportation of every child in every exam center in the state, Kumar added.
There will be free transportation in buses for students till the examination centers if they show their hall tickets.
The department has also hired buses on contract for children who do not have government buses to pick and drop them to their nearest destinations.
There is free bus travel available for children coming from Kasaragod in Kerala to Sulya in Karnataka from the inter-state border to the exam centers, the minister said.
According to him, special sitting arrangements in separate rooms have been made for children with fever where they will be given N95 masks.
The supervisors will also get N95 masks and sanitizers, he added.
The minister said the decision to hold exams was taken after getting a nod from the Union Home Ministry and the Human Resource Development Ministry.
"We are conducting this examination after consulting many political, social, religious leaders, education experts, and parents," he added.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Attacks on Christians contradict PM's message of harmony, visit to church: Gehlot
Jaipur (PTI): Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Thursday expressed concern over the reported attacks and disruptions in prayer gatherings of the Christian community in different parts of the country, saying such incidents were "worrying and condemnable".
In a post on X, Gehlot said that while the Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting a church and giving a message of peace and harmony, news of attacks on members of the Christian community from various regions reflected a serious contradiction.
ALSO READ: FIR registered against over 30 for vandalising Christmas decorations at Raipur mall
"Symbolic gestures would not be enough, and strict legal action was required against those spreading hatred," the senior Congress leader said.
He added that Indian culture has always upheld the spirit of "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam", where every citizen has full freedom to practise their faith.
Gehlot urged the Centre and state governments to uphold the rule of law and ensure that no citizen is forced to celebrate their festival under fear.
