Students, school teachers and officials of the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) are all set for the Class X SSLC examination, which begins on Monday amidst a slew of precautionary measures against COVID-19.
As many as 8.76 lakh students have registered for the examination.
This year, the Department of Primary and Secondary Education has increased the number of examination centres and teachers on duty. As many as 1.19 lakh staff have been deployed on duty, up from 80,000 roped in last year.
The number of centres, which were 3,310 in 2020, has been increased to 4,885. Examination rooms, too, have been increased from 48,000 last year to 73,064.
23 students test positive
As of Sunday, 23 students across the State informed their schools that they had tested positive for COVID-19. They will write the examination at a COVID Care Centre (CCC) in their respective districts. V. Sumangala, KSEEB director, said arrangements have been made by the respective block education officers for CCCs following all standard operating procedures.
Only 12 students, one per bench, will be seated in a classroom. Officials of KSEEB pointed out that candidates with symptoms of cough, cold, and fever will be allowed to take the test in a separate room. A health check-up counter equipped with thermal scanners and pulse oximeters have been set up at each centre.
According to the department officials, all the staff involved in examination duty have received at least one dose of vaccination. Drills were conducted in various centres on Saturday. Students will have to appear for two examinations - one on Monday and another on July 22. The first paper includes all core subjects - science, mathematics and social science. On July 22, students will have to appear for three language papers.
