Without transport, teachers struggle to reach exam centres

The lockdown has made life difficult for hundreds of teachers deployed for evaluation work in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts, as they faced enormous challenges reaching the centres.

Despite Primary Education Minister Suresh Kumar’s announcement that the evaluation will not happen between July 15 and 22 due to the lockdown, director of the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) Sumangala contradicted the minister’s assertions by asking the deputy directors of both districts to conduct the evaluation.

The communication that came late Tuesday evening left officials confused, while teachers struggled to reach the evaluation centres without transportation facilities.

"As it was announced by the minister, an exemption was given in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts considering the lockdown. But on Tuesday night, around 11 pm, I received a message from the board insisting to report for evaluation. As I depend on public transport, I could not take part in evaluation work on Wednesday," said one of the teachers.

"I am working with a private school and have not been paid for the past three months. I received a message around 4 am to report for evaluation work. I tried to hire an auto in the morning, but the amount they were demanding was too much and I couldn't manage it as I am already under a financial crisis," said another teacher.

While the board insisted that it had organised transportation, teachers said they could not access it.