Amid a raging controversy surrounding wearing hijab by students in class, day one of the SSLC examination in Dharwad district was a smooth affair on Monday with officials taking the necessary precautionary measures to avoid confusion.
Deputy Commissioner of Dharwad Nitesh Patil, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Suresh Itnal and senior officials of the Department of Public Instruction visited various examination centres in Hubballi-Dharwad and other places to take stock of the situation. They also wished the students and appealed to them to face the examinations with confidence.
In all, 28,332 students have registered for the SSLC examination in the district and 113 centres have been set up.
On the first day of the examination on Monday, a total of 267 students remained absent and 28,065 students appeared for the first language examination, according to Mr. Nitesh Patil.
The police have made elaborate security arrangements around the examination centres with prohibitory orders being imposed in a radius of 200 m.
In Hubballi Urban taluk, of the total 8,192 registered candidates, 8,135 students appeared and 57 candidates remained absent. In Dharwad city, of the total of 4,906 registered candidates, 4,846 appeared for the first paper and 60 remained absent.
The Deputy Commissioner said that squads led by tahsildars and Block Education Officers have been formed to conduct surprise checks to detect any malpractice. And, there was no incident of mass copying or exam malpractice reported.
In Hubballi, a burkha-clad girl was sent back after it was found that she was not wearing the uniform. She returned with her parents and came back wearing the school uniform after which she was allowed to write the exam. In some places, students without school uniforms were allowed to write the examination, but officials clarified that it is mandatory for students to wear school uniforms when they come to write the examination.
