Team Herald
PANJIM: The Class X board examinations finally started on Thursday, as 365 students appeared for the pre-vocational paper of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination.
The exam commenced after a delay of almost a month and a half due to the COVID-19 pandemic enforced lockdown. The examination for the general papers will begin from May 23 with Language Paper I, which would be answered by 19,680 students.
On Thursday, students, answering the pre-vocational paper, adhered to the lockdown guidelines, and were seen wearing masks and maintaining proper social distancing in the waiting areas, as well as while entering the exam centres.
On arrival at the exam centres, students were sanitised and their temperatures checked. Schools have roped in volunteers to assist candidates to reach to their respective blocks, as no parents were permitted within 200 metres of the examination centres.
Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant tweeted saying, “The government has meticulously planned every step for safe conduct of the exams by addressing all challenges posed by COVID-19. Youngsters are the future of our nation. Our decision to conduct the SSC examination was in the highest interest of the students.”
Students also welcomed the government’s decision to conduct the exam. “We were going under tremendous stress. There was no clarity as when exams will be held. There was physiological stress….my friends even went into depression due to excess study. I am happy that exams are finally held,” Manisha Kamat, a student said.
Another student, Akhil Padgaonkar also expressed similar feelings saying, “Promoting students would not have helped us, as for seeking admission in Class XI, percentage matters in each stream. How would that have been possible? Would colleges have dropped the percentage concept and given admission to anyone?”
Deepraj Prabhu, another student, said, “I am happy exams are held. All that stress and pressure we were going through for last one year, and especially last two months, is finally gone.”
