SSLC evaluation centres must only be at taluk headquarters, say teachers

Hubballi: The teachers evaluating SSLC answer scripts have impressed on the Karnataka State Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) to ensure that the process, set to start from July 13, will be held at the taluk headquarters instead of the district headquarters.
Instead of submitting a memorandum, the teachers decided to collate the opinion of their colleagues on a Google Form. They are stepping up pressure on the KSEEB to introduce taluk-level evaluation centres, which they pointed out would free them of the hassles of finding accommodation and make arrangements for transport and food. In order to convince the KSEEB that this is the choice of an overwhelmingly large section of the teachers by conducting an opinion poll on Google Forms.
President of the Karnataka State Rural High School Teachers’ Association Pawadeepa Kambale said that the poll had been launched on Tuesday evening, with the link being shared on WhatsApp, Facebook and other portals. “Nearly 85% of the teachers are in favour of having evaluations at taluk headquarters. There is only one question that the poll is about: Where do you want to evaluate SSLC answer scripts?’ There are three choices: district headquarters, taluk headquarters and the third one is others,” Kambale told TOI.
Bhimashankar Badiger, a teacher in Dharwad district, said that many of them were being asked to report to places as far off as 200km. “Under the present circumstances, it is very difficult to find accommodation and food at the district headquarters, and staying at the home of friends or relatives is not an option considering the prevalence of the pandemic. It will be very convenient if the evaluation centres are at taluk headquarters since teachers at both rural and urban centres can travel easily by pooling cars,” Badiger said.
Nirmala Shettar, a teacher in Kalghatgi taluk and resident of Hubballi, said that regardless of the place of work, they needed to be posted to centres in taluks they were residents of. “The government allowed students from Mangaluru to write exams in Dharwad, which was their home. The same privilege needs to be extended to the teachers so we can arrest the spread of Covid-19,” said Nirmala.
Primary and secondary education minister S Suresh Kumar was not available for a response.