SSLC exams begin in Karnataka amid COVID concerns
Bengaluru: The two-day Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) or class 10 exams began across the state on Monday, amid COVID-19 concerns.
As many as 8.76 lakh students have registered for the examination.
This is for the second consecutive year that the Department of Primary and Secondary Education is conducting the SSLC examinations amid the pandemic.
Due to COVID-19 situation, for the first time, the examinations have been reduced from six days to two days, with students writing one paper for three subjects per day.
On Monday, students are writing the exam for core subjects mathematics, science and social science, while on July 22 there will be exams for languages such as Kannada, English, Hindi, Sanskrit.
The department this year has increased the number of examination centres and teachers on duty, Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board officials have said, adding that as many as 1.19 lakh staff have been deployed for 73,064 exam halls in 4,885 centres across the state.
Special arrangements have been made for 23 students who have tested positive for COVID-19, to write the exams at the COVID Care Centres in their respective districts.
All the necessary arrangementshave been made at the exam centres keeping the pandemic situation in mind, wherein only 12 students, one per bench, will be seated in a classroom and those with symptoms will be allowed to take the exam in a separate room, officials said.
All the staff involved in examination duty have received at least one dose of vaccination, the official added.
The exam will be in the form of multiple-choice questions and the students will have to mark the right answers on the Optical Mark Reading (OMR) sheet given to them.
Wishing all the students appearing for SSLC exams good luck, Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa in a tweet said, "I urge my young friends to relax and focus on exams. I assure parents that our government has made all arrangements to ensure exams are held safely."
Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar too in a tweet assured parents that the exam centres are safe for students and the government has taken all necessary measures to conduct the exams in a safe environment.
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Elephant calf brought from Bijnor kept under care at Pilibhit Tiger Reserve
Pilibhit (PTI): A 19-day-old elephant calf, brought from Bijnor, was placed under care at the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve (PTR) on Sunday, an official said and added that the calf got separated from its mother in the forest area of Bijnor.
The calf was born on December 2 in the Bijnor forest area and got separated from its mother shortly after birth, the official said.
The forest department made several attempts to reunite it with its mother, but without any success. To ensure the calf's safety and better care, it was decided to transfer it to the Pilibhit Tiger Reserve on the instructions of senior officials.
On Saturday, Deputy Director Manish Singh received the calf. Special arrangements have been made in the reserve for its care. It has been kept in a safe and clean environment to provide it with a natural setting and protect it from external noise and disturbances.
Singh told reporters that raising an 19-day-old calf is challenging.
It requires a special diet as a substitute for mother's milk and constant monitoring.
He said a special team has been formed to provide 24-hour care. Since the calf is very young, it is being cared for like a newborn baby.
According to Singh, the primary responsibility for monitoring the calf's health has been entrusted to PTR's veterinarian, Dr Daksh Gangwar. Under his supervision, a complete record of the calf's health checkups, diet, and body temperature is being maintained. The team is ensuring that the calf does not contract any infection.
