Reshma Ravishanker 

Confusion over papers marked the day two of the board conducted annual exams for class 5 and 8 state board students in Karnataka on Tuesday. 

On day two of the much debated exams, students across the state in state board affiliated schools appeared for second language papers. However, some schools had received question paper bundles of a different language from what was opted while others battled a shortage of the question papers itself. 

Renukesh, secretary, NBN Vidya Mandir said that the school had a shortage of papers and also received some incorrect ones. In place of Kannada question papers, the invigilators found English papers in the bundles handed out to them. 

He said that this caused confusion leaving students in a state of worry. “We also received a lesser number of question papers than the students registered for. We had to commence exams at 2.30 pm. Owing to the shortage, we had to start at 3.15 pm. It went on at 5.15 pm unexpectedly.

“Children were in a state of shock over the apathy and poor management while parents turned chaotic. They questioned us about the quality of the so-called board exams and the manner in which it was managed.” 

E Umashankar, secretary, Vidyanjali primary and high school said, “We received a wrong bundle of papers for class 5. We got Kannada instead of English. Similar confusion happened yesterday as well. We had only one sample paper of English. I sent the staff to get them photocopied and distributed it to students. I did not want children to feel distressed and hence took the call. These exams commenced on time.”

Meanwhile, an education department source from the Bengaluru South Zone confirmed that there was a shortage of papers. 

“These errors in counting might have been a result of machine counting or human error. Clusters were given 500 extra question papers if such a situation arose. The same had to be distributed while some other schools resorted to getting it xeroxed,” be confirmed.

Also Read: Karnataka: Class 5 & 8 board exam timetable announced