Opportunity to excel

Vijesh (15) and Tanmay (15) weren’t happy after the SSLC results were announced last week. While Vijesh, a student of Indiranagar High School, failed in Maths and Science;  Sanjay, a student of St Meera’s high School, found that he had three supplementary exams to prepare for. The boys are relieved that they will get another chance to clear the examination, without having to waste a whole year.

“There is hope. I get to clear the papers in June itself,” says Vijesh.

Of 8,07,939 students who wrote the SSLC exam this year, only 5,07,180 passed. Many blame the change in question paper pattern and the “tough” Maths paper. “I was certain I wouldn’t clear the Maths paper. But I’m not worried. That’s not going to stop me from moving to Class 11,” says Karthika (14), who has Maths and Social Science to clear in the supplementary exam next month. For several years now, the SSLC supplementary examination has been conducted in June to prevent the loss of an academic year. Students take the exam in June, get the results by the end of the month and seek admission to Class XI or PUC in July.

This year, the supplementary exams begin on June 7, which gives students a month to get their act together. And they don’t want to waste a single, precious minute. M Tanmay has already enrolled with a tutorial for coaching in three subjects. “I am confident of clearing my exams. What’s there to worry?” he says. However, teachers and parents won’t rest easy until the exam is over and the results are out. Agnes Flora Mathan, principal of Grammar Public School, Madiwala, is putting together an intensive crash course for her students before D-day. “One month is hardly enough. Most students have more than one paper to clear. They are sure to have forgotten all the basics which makes it harder to teach them in such a short span of time,” she says.

M N Baig, Director (Examinations) of Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board, disagrees. “The move to conduct the supplementary examinations in June was made keeping the students’ interests in mind. We are working all day long through these two months to ensure that students don’t lose a year. We want to give them a fighting chance and they should use the opportunity well,” he says.

(Some names of students have been changed on request.)