Pics: Dayanand Kukkaje / Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi/ Mangalore (SP)

Udupi/Mangalore, Mar 28: Anxiety and tension coupled with confidence marked young faces as SSLC exams began across the state on Friday March 28. Students in schools of Udupi and Mangalore were seen arriving early at their exam centres, some of them accompanied by anxious parents, rushing to check their classrooms, wiping off sweat and making last minute revisions even as they fought the butterflies in the stomach.

Mangalore

Udupi

A total of 8,26,269 students from the state, of whom 7,63,330 are attempting this examination for the first time, will be putting to test their knowledge through SSLC examination, which will continue till April 9. 

Among them, 35,011 (18,559 boys, 16,452 girls) students spread over 463 high schools in Dakshina Kannada district will be testing their luck this year. 

As many as 4.11 lac girls, 3.73 lac boys, 41,269 repeat candidates, and 21,670 private students will be among those taking this examination this time in the state. 2,514 physically handicapped students including 437 blind and 533 deaf and dumb ones will also be appearing for this examination. The timing of the examination will be 9.30 am to 12.15 pm. Only engineering drawing and music examination have been scheduled between 2 pm and 5.15 pm.

Director of Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board, A Devaprakash, has said that all preparations and security needs have been attended for the smooth conduct of this examination, and an area of 200 metres radius around each of the examination centres have been declared as prohibited. Xerox centres functioning around the examination centres have been ordered to be closed. Two police personnel will man each of these examination centres, he added.

Dakshina Kannada district has 101 examination centres, and five centres have been opened in the city for those who write the examination as private candidates. For the first time, medical teams with physicians and other staff have been stationed for helping the students.

Arrangements have been made to ensure that the question papers, which have been kept in taluk treasuries, reach the examination centres on the respective dates of examinations, said deputy director of public instruction, Moses Jayashekhar.