– Reshma Ravishanker 

The Karnataka education department has released guidelines for conducting the Senior School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations allowing even those students who are Covid positive to appear for exams.

Over 8.7 lakh students are estimated to write the class 10 state board exams that are scheduled to be held in July. Previously, the exams were to commence on June 21 and was postponed following the onset of the second wave of the Covid pandemic.

The standard operating procedure, which was released by the department states that each Taluk will have a Taluk care centre where students who are Covid positive can take exams.

Details of students who want to be take the exam despite being positive must be collected prior to the commencement of exams and arrangements are to be made. If any child is certified to be Covid positive, she will be allowed to appear for exams only if certified by the medical practitioner to be fit to write the exam. Arrangements will be made by the health department to bring such students to the centres in ambulance and staff from the health department will be appointed as invigilators in such centres. Measures are to be taken to sanitize the OMR sheets once the student has handed it back.

Among the other mandates, the department has suggested measures that ensure social distancing and sanitization.

Separate rooms have been identified in each of the centres where any student with symptoms of Covid-19 will be isolated. It has been mandated that each of the invigilators take at least one dose of the vaccine before exams and ensure that face masks and shields are used in exam halls.

In case a child has been tested positive and us unable to write exams, in such cases, if the board is intimated, a second attempt would be given. This will be treated as a fresh attempt for the student. 

Also read: Covid-19 vaccine for children will be available by September