Karnataka: Class 10 exams put off once again

Bengaluru: Amid the ongoing onslaught of the pandemic, Karnataka on Thursday decided to postpone the Class 10 (Secondary School Leaving Certificate - SSLC) state board examination.

Education Minister S. Suresh Kumar said in a statement released through his office that the fresh dates for SSLC examinations will be announced only after the ongoing Covid second wave subsides.

Kumar on April 20 had asserted that the examinations for SSLC were scheduled to begin on June 21 and this time these examinations would neither be cancelled nor be postponed and it will be held in the state as scheduled from June 21 to July 5.

"With the Covid second wave wreaking havoc since April, parents, students and many school associations have raised red flags over holding these crucial examinations from June 21 onwards," the Minister's office said in a statement quoting him.

Kumar also stated that the revised dates will be announced much ahead of schedule, as he appealed to the students not to get disappointed and continue with their preparations for the examinations.

Earlier, Karnataka had postponed the second year Pre-University Exam (PUC) or Class 12 final exams and promoted first-year students.

Given the circumstances, even the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) 2021, which is held for Engineering admission, was also postponed on Wednesday.

Karnataka schools are currently observing summer vacation, which will continue till June 14. The new academic year would begin on June 15.

However, high school teachers had been instructed to conduct revision classes for SSLC students. Summer vacation for high school teachers is till May 31.

Amid the second wave of the pandemic began showing its ugly sign of raising its head in April, several state boards and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) announced their decision to cancel the ICSE or class 10 board examinations in April itself, but Karnataka continues to 'maintain' that it wants to hold examinations for class 10 students.

Subsequently cancelling class 10 examinations, the CBSE even announced an alternative scheme for the evaluation of Class 10 students.

The Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) - state's education board that holds class 10 examinations, about 8.5 lakh students appear for the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate or Class 10) examination annually.

The KSEEB which generally conducts examinations in March/April of every year but due to prolonged lockout in 2020, this year's annual examinations are held in June. After conducting annual examinations the Board also needs to re-conduct the same examination in the month of June for the benefit of the students who fail in main examinations and nearly 2.20 lakh students take the supplementary examination.