The Karnataka government has denied reports that 32 students who appeared for Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) exams have been tested Covid-19 positive.

The Karnataka education minister S Suresh Kumar said that the students who were tested positive have not been permitted to give exams. “They have been assured that they will be allowed to write the supplementary exam in August as freshers,” he said.   

Over 7.5 lakh students appeared for the SSLC exams in Karnataka on the first day on June 25. The minister clarified that the 32 students who were tested Covid-19 positive were in home quarantine and were not allowed to give exams. The government further stated that 3,911 students, who lived in containment zones, did not attend the exams.

The SSLC exams were conducted between June 25 and July 3 this year, despite several protests by students and their parents. Opposition leaders and parents raised their concerns about the safety of the children appearing for the exams. Many said that the Karnataka government was risking lives of the students by conducting the SSLC exams amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the state government was adamant about its decision of conducting the exams and is confident that all safety measures were in place during the conduct of the exams. The state government is confident that social distancing, thermal testing and sanitisation during the examinations have restricted the spread of the virus and not a single student got infected at exam centres. 

On Friday, Karnataka education minister S Suresh Kumar took to Twitter and congratulated the students for completing their SSLC examinations.

The SSLC exams that were scheduled to be held from March 27 to April 9 were postponed due to the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

Source: News18

Read: SC allows Karnataka SSLC exams to be conducted from June 25