Board exams won’t be held in March: Karnataka Minister Suresh Kumar

December 22, 2020

The board exams for Class 10 (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) and Pre University College II will not be held between March and April like the years before said Primary and Secondary Education Minister S Suresh Kumar on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, Suresh Kumar said that the time table for SSLC and PUC II board exams for the academic year 2020-21 would be published soon. Ensuing the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown, schools have been shut across the state.
While private schools have been conducting online classes, students studying in government schools have had to watch the pre recorded classes on DD Chandana and the YouTube channel to learn their lessons.
Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar on Monday said that the government would once again take the advice of the state’s Technical Advisory Committee to decide whether reopening schools is wise in the view of the new strain of the coronavirus found in the UK.
Minister Sudhakar had also announced new quarantine rules for passengers coming from the UK, Netherlands and Denmark.

“We will publish a new calendar for the SSLC and PUC II exams. It will not be held in March and April,” Suresh Kumar said. The board exams for these students are generally held between the last week of March to the last week of April. Sources in the Education Department said that the decision was taken to give students extra time to attend classes from January 1 onwards and prepare for the board exams.
Students in Classes 10 and PUC II have had a particularly hard time to study this year, especially in government schools, as the pandemic has crippled their ability to learn from teachers at schools.

The Department of Public Instruction launched a survey last week to determine the number of children who have dropped out of school following the lockdown and the lack of physical classes. The mid-day meal scheme, which had helped ensure that children went to school on time, was also stopped after schools shut down.
The Department had announced last week that the Vidyagama program for 6 to 12 would begin on January 1. Suresh Kumar also said that students in SSLC and PUC II can attend classes ahead of the board exams, as it is a crucial time.“The change in the new Vidyagama is it will be held only in school premises and students can attend it three days a week,Schools will reopen with a strength of 20 students in each class. The mid-day meal scheme will continue but the minister had said that food packets would be delivered to the childrens’ homes directly,” Suresh Kumar had said.
The Vidyagama program has teachers holding classes for a limited number of students in open air spaces like playgrounds etc. This was discontinued earlier in September after several students in various districts tested positive for COVID-19, triggering panic among parents.