Day one of the SSLC and higher secondary examinations passed off without any hiccups for thousands of students in Ernakulam district on Wednesday.
Many pointed out that the questions were ‘cool’ even though the temperature outside was ‘high’. Students at the Girl’s HSS, Ernakulam, pointed out that the Malayalam question paper was easy as expected. “There were no surprises as the questions were familiar. Last minute revisions also helped a lot,” said a group of students. A section of students said that an easy exam on day one helped them reduce tension. “It has also given us the courage to approach the remaining exams with confidence,” they said.
However, Education Department authorities began the day with a huge challenge of conducting the examinations without any problems and complaints. By evening, they said that no lapses were reported from anywhere in the district. The exams, which began at 1.45 p.m, ended as per the schedule at 3.30 p.m.
Question paper bundles, which were kept in safe storage in treasury lockers, were taken out and transported to schools at 9 a.m. Police personnel had stepped up vigil while transporting question papers from treasuries to various examination centres in the district. Chief examiners and deputy chief examiners received the question papers at schools and kept them in safe custody at the school lockers until 1.30 p.m. The officials then personally delivered the question papers to the invigilators at each classroom. The students were permitted to take water bottle without labels inside halls in view of the scorching heat. Drinking water was also distributed at regular intervals in several schools. Officials said that special squads had also been deployed to monitor the conduct of the examination.
Plus Two exams
The first day offered an easy ride for students of Plus One and Plus Two pursuing various streams. Teachers said that they found a lot of ‘smiling faces’ after the exams, showing that the paper was easy and not tough for them. “We had also held preparatory sessions, where various question papers were taken up for discussion.” A senior teacher said that they had also helped students to ease the tension associated with exams by holding sessions to revise the learning concepts.
