Yediyurappa says no miscommunication on SSLC exams, dismisses Sudhakar's claims

A day after the Karnataka Health Minister indicated that he was not aware of the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination announcement, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa dismissed the lack of communication and said that he had spoken to Education Minister S Suresh Kumar before the schedule was announced. The SSLC exams for Class 10 students in Karnataka will be held from July 19, Suresh Kumar announced on Friday, June 28. However, hours after the announcement, state Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar said in a press conference that he was not aware about the examination dates, as he had not yet spoken with the Education Minister. He added that he did not know whether the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) was consulted regarding the matter, which created confusion.

Clarifying the same, CM Yediyurappa tweeted, “Minister of Education S Suresh Kumar had discussed with me in advance and took the decision to schedule the SSLC exam in July. The decision was taken after a thorough discussion of the subject and is in the best interest of the students. It is not a unilateral decision. Let there be no confusion over the subject.” After the Health Minister’s press conference, a report in The New Indian Express quoted S Suresh as saying that the decision to conduct the SSLC exams was announced after a two hour-long meeting with Health Department officials, based on the TAC’s advice. CM Yediyurappa also reportedly approved the move. 

The Karnataka government also released the standard operating procedure (SOP) for the conduct of the examination, based on recommendations from the state Health Department. According to this, students who have contracted the coronavirus are also eligible for writing the exam. The government directed infected students to write their exams from COVID Care Centres, which have been directed to make appropriate arrangements for them. The examination of core subjects— Mathematics, Science and Social Science — will be held on July 19 and the examination on languages will be held on July 22.