Preparations for SSLC exam complete: Minister S Suresh Kumar
Bengaluru, Jul 14: Preparations for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate or 10th standard exam, which is scheduled for July 19 and 22, has been completed in all districts of the state, with district officials and chief executive officers of gram panchayats already reviewing the steps, Karnataka Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar said on Wednesday.
The minister held a review meeting with the director of primary and secondary education and instructed officials to ensure that no child appearing for the exam faces any problem.
Later, Kumar said in a statement that deputy commissioners of districts had convened a meeting with officials of local bodies, CEO of gram panchayats, superintendents of police, district health and education officers, where they were instructed to strictly adhere to the COVID standard operating procedure.
The minister said steps have been taken to instill confidence among children and they have been repeatedly told about the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet.
"Room supervisors are instructed to guide the students on filling the OMR sheets and follow the SOP to avoid any confusion."
Two days before the test, the officers, health staff, and scouts-guides volunteers who will be assigned to the test process will conduct a mock examination at the test centre.
"The tests this time will be held in a more secure environment than last time.Teachers got in touch with parents and students and explained to them the steps taken by the government to conduct the exam," the minister said in the statement.
He claimed parents are eager to send their children for the examination.
Kumar said he has discussed with officials through video conference and gave them last minute instructions.
The government has also arranged transportation for children to reach the exam centres.
"The Managing Director of the Transport Corporation has issued a circular allowing children to travel in buses by displaying their admission cards.Instructions have been given to ensure that no child should miss the examination for want of a vehicle," Kumar said.
He added that many organisations, legislators and public representatives have even arranged snacks, breakfast and water bottle besides biscuits for the children in their area.
Stating that the exam centres will be like secured places for children, the minister said the exam will be like a festival for children and appealed to them to treat the exam centres as a playground.
In response to certain complaints that some schools have denied hall tickets to the students for not paying their fees, the minister said the block education officers will take appropriate action to ensure that children do not face any hardship and the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board would issue a circular that no child will be denied examination due to fees related issues.
While some states decided to give general promotion to the 10th standard students due to COVID-19, Karnataka decided to hold the exam saying that it is crucial for students to select their stream.
The exam will be held on the OMR sheets, where simple and direct questions will be asked, the minister had said earlier.
The exam will be held on two days -- July 19 and 22.
On July 19, the core subject exam such as science, maths and social science will be held while on July 22, exam for languages will take place.
The duration of the exam will be three hours.
The government decided to conduct the exam, setting aside the fear among a section of people that they would be risking the lives of children amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A petitioner had even approached the Karnataka High Court against the examination but it dismissed the petition after it was satisfied by the measures taken by the government to conduct the exam in a safe environment.
Karnataka had successfully conducted the 10th and 12th exam last year as well under the shadow of COVID-19.
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Bumrah leads India to its biggest Test win on Australian soil
Perth (PTI): Jasprit Bumrah led a feisty bunch of Indian cricketers to their most dominant Test victory on Australian soil, winning by a massive 295 runs in a remarkable turnaround that will find a pride of place among the country's golden moments in international cricket.
The stand-in skipper led by example with a match-haul of 8/72 as India bowled out the hosts, who were in pursuit of a mammoth 534, for 238 in 58.4 overs on the fourth afternoon of the opening Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy here.
The victory propelled India back to the top of the World Test Championship standings with 61.11 percentage points.
India's previous biggest winning margin in terms of runs was 222 during a 1978 game in Sydney when Australia played an under-strength side due to mass exodus for the Kerry Packer World Series.
India are now 1-0 up in the five-Test series with regular skipper Rohit Sharma ready to take over during the Day/Night game starting December 6 in Adelaide.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will be among the heroes with their solid second innings batting performances, it was Bumrah's unbelievable skill-set and self belief during Australia's first innings rout that formed the cornerstone of India's win.
Not many teams have come back after being 150 all-out on the first day but this Indian team has time and again showed that it is built different.
Prior to the Test, Bumrah spoke about embracing challenges and he did walk the talk during all four days.
It was evident from the manner in which he allowed Mohammed Siraj (match haul of five wickets), debutants Harshit Rana (match haul of four wickets) and Nitish Reddy (41 and 37 not out and one wicket) bowl from the Member's End so that they can get extra help due to the ball keeping very low.
Washington Sundar (two wickets and 29 runs), who was preferred after the team management felt that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja with 850 plus Test wickets between them, would not be as effective on this track, also did his bit in mopping up the tail.
The victory will bear greater significance because of India's shocking 0-3 whitewash at home by New Zealand.
With three of their automatic first team selections in skipper Rohit, talented Shubman Gill and bowling artist Mohammed Shami ruled out due to different reasons, Bumrah, leading in only his second Test, was left with a lot to do and less options to work with.
Gabba 2021 evokes nostalgia for every Indian cricket fan but Perth 2024 will certainly be right up there considering that no one, save those eleven and the few others in that change room, could have believed that something like this is possible.
Often the job of deputies in cricket is an understated one but it is all about making it easy for the general in charge.
Rahul Dravid had tirelessly done that for Sourav Ganguly during their time and as Rohit Sharma checked-in, he would know that his deputy has at lest tried to remove the ton of pressure on his chest after the home series debacle.
Gambhir Moves
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Credit must also go to head coach Gautam Gambhir, who copped a lot of flak after the defeat to the Black Caps and it was widely believed that rookies Reddy and Harshit got Test caps on his insistence.
Gambhir, who seldom smiles, could afford a grin under the Perth Sun as the burly Harshit and the sinewy Nitish didn't deviate from the script handed to them for the better part of the game.
Nervous Aussies
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Starting the day at 12 for 3 in pursuit of 534, it was about how much time would it take for Australia to capitulate and they eventually did despite a counter-attacking 89 by Travis Head that only delayed the inevitable.
On the last two tours, India started the series at Adelaide, which is believed to have friendlier batting conditions but this time, Australia decided to make the first move putting India on the bounciest surface in the country.
The move only worked for a session and a half before it backfired completely. The Australians had factored in India's vulnerability but decided to punt on their own batting line-up which has been woefully short of runs.
Steve Smith, one of the modern day greats, and Marnus Labuschagne, who has always been obsessed about batting, have had their forms desert them for the longest time.
Then they inducted a rookie in Nathan McSweeney, who isn't particularly tested and also not an opener. It indicated that just like India, Australia will also face a transition, and it's case could be even worse.
Josh Hazlewood had thrown the towel on third evening itself and one shouldn't be surprised if the Australian team management plays on flatter batting decks in the coming matches in order to nullify Bumrah's threat.
But Bumrah is the sort of bowler can tighten the noose whenever he desires and irrespective of conditions.
On the fourth afternoon, he came back to dislodge Head, who was putting on a fight.
That was possibly the best of his eight wickets in the game. It was pitched on length and the compulsive driver that Head is, he didn't expect it to climb from length and it took the outside edge.
