Special exam rooms for migrant workers’ kids

Belagavi: About 780 children of migrant workers will take the SSLC examinations at dedicated rooms specially earmarked for them in Belagavi and Chikkodi educational districts.
The district administration, particularly the education department, has set up exclusive exam centres for these children keping in mind social distancing and their travel history.
Several hundred families have returned to the district from Bengaluru, Mysuru, Udupi, Mangaluru and other regions. Identified as potential carriers of virus, the education department has decided to house children separately. It must be noted that these children have also opted for change of centres.
In Belagavi educational district there are 400 such students and in Chikkodi 380. Many centres have been already earmarked for accommodating the children. Besides, students who are found to be suffering from mild Covid related symptoms will take exams all alone in reserved rooms.
Chikkodi DDPI said 35 centres have been earmarked. Twenty special centres are readied in Belagavi and 15 in Chikkodi. "There are adequate number of masks, hand sanitisers for the children to use. The children will be seated in such a way that there will be a gap of 3 feet between each student," he said.
An SSLC student who has returned from Mysuru along with his parents told ToI that he was relieved after the state allowed to change centres. His parents who work as construction workers were in Mysuru since 2012. Now he will be taking the exam at a special centre in Sadalaga taluk.
SSLC nodal officer, Mahadev Bellannavar said the department will run a health check on students before they enter the examination hall. "If we find any student has any Covid-like symptoms, he/she will be shifted to reserved rooms to write the exam alone," he said adding that the department is carrying out exams as per the SoP issued by the state government.