Smooth start for Karnataka II PUC exams

It was a smooth start for the second PUC examination on Thursday.

Though some students entered the premises wearing hijab, they removed the same without any resistance at a designated room before entering the examination hall, as there is a clear instruction from the department of School Education and Literacy to stick to the uniform rule.

Speaking to DH, a principal of the Government Pre-University College in Malleswaram, Bengaluru, said, “No student resisted removing hijab or denied to write exams for not being allowed to wear hijab. They voluntarily removed hijab in a room assigned for the same and entered the examination hall.”

It was Kannada on Day One and as many as 23,771 candidates skipped the examinations.

As per the data shared by the department, the total number of students registered for the subject was 5,33,797, of which 5,10,026 candidates were present. The highest number of absentees were from Kalaburagi district with 1,539, followed by Vijayapura with 1,516, Bengaluru North with 1,387 and Bengaluru South with 1,333.

However, students felt the question paper was easy, and Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) introduced for the first time, were helpful.

“In total 20 questions were of MCQ format and it was easy to score more marks in that category. I am a science student and I don’t know how tricky these MCQs are in Mathematics,” said a student.

“Writing descriptive answers would definitely need more time and MCQ is the best student-friendly decision taken by the government. Happy that we are the first batch attempting MCQs,” said Karan P, a student.

There were no untoward incidents reported on Day One of the exams and there were no rumours about the paper leaks. Two malpractice cases were reported, one in Belagavi and another in Yadgiri.

After bifurcating the examination section from the department of Pre-University Education and the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) was constituted, the Board has set the question papers, and the examination is being conducted under the Secure Examination System, adopted by the department.