SRINAGAR – Amid a tense situation, Board of School Education (BOSE) conducted examination for 65,000 tenth class regular students in the Kashmir valley on Tuesday.
10th class exams are being conducted even asclasswork in schools remained suspended since August 5 when a curfew was clamped on Kashmir and a communication blackout was clamped ahead of scraping of Kashmir’s special status.
Students complainedof hardship due to non-availability of public transport.
They said the examination started at 1230 hrs and commenced at 1530 hrs. But, students alleged that they faced a lot of hardship while commuting from homes to their respective examination centres due to non-availability of public transport.
Meanwhile reports have come in from various areas of sporadic incidents of stone peltings on examination centres by unruly youth.
Sources in BOSE said that 615 examination centres were set up across Kashmir valley for 65,000 candidates, appearing in the examinations.
Prior to holding the examinations, authorities had moved the security forces occupying the school buildings from various institutions, where centres have been set up.
Pertinently the date sheet for 8th, 10th and 12 classes were issued by BOSE, when Kashmir Valley remains under a lockdown for almost three months. Ironically students have hardly completed 60% of their syllabus so far but authorities have categorically refused to give any relaxation in the syllabus putting youngsters to unprecedented stress.
“We had to face a lot of hardship due to non-availability of public transport. I had to walk for over half-an-hour before hitchhiking to my examination centre. The authorities had claimed that they have provided transportation, but no such thing has been done,” a student at an examination centre in S P School in Civil Lines, Srinagar.
He further said that even though 50 per cent syllabus was completed due to closure of educational institutes, no relaxation was given. “When only 50 per cent syllabus was completed how can we give examination for 100 per cent syllabus. And how is it going to help us compete in competitive examinations,” he said.
Meanwhile, large number of parents could be seen waiting outside the examination centres, where restrictions under 144 CrPc were imposed by authorities to maintain law and order. “I am waiting outside the examination centre for my son. I had to borrow a motorcycle from by brother to ferry my son from our residence to the examination centre as there is no public transport available,” Yousuf Ahmad, a parent was quoted as saying by the UNI.
Ahmad said most importantly ‘I didn’t find it feasible to send my son on his own to the examination centre, keeping in view the situation in the valley.
Around a total number of 1.6 lac class 10th and 12th students are scheduled to participate in these examinations.
Bose sources have revealed that 633 centres have been set up for 48,000 12thclass students, participating in their examinations starting from today.
Authorities had imposedprohibitory orders under 144 crpc around the examination centres for 10th class, which will remain in effect around the centres also, where 12th class students will be appearing in examinations.
Meanwhile there were reports of sporadic violence near centres set up in various areas, where examinations were scheduled to be held, forcing students to run away and skip their exams.
In Rainawari locality of Srinagar, roll number slips of students were torn and stones were pelted on the examination centre set up in local government high school by a mob. Frightened students and examination staff ran away from the centre, due to which no exams were held in this particular centre.
In Fayaz Educational Institute, panic gripped the students and the staff, when some youth appeared at the scene and torned the roll number slips, being distributed among the students and chased them away.
The government ordered closure of all educational institutions on August 5, when centre scrapped Article 370 and 35 A, besides divided the state into two Union Territories. However, educational institutions reopened in winter capital, Jammu and Ladakh after about two weeks in a phased manner but remained closed in the valley.
After remaining closed for more than a month, government ordered reopening of primary and middle schools first followed by High and Higher Secondary Schools (HSS) and on October 9 colleges in the valley, where life remained crippled due to spontaneous strike from August 5.
However, students continued to stay away and did not attended their classes in private and government institutions as parents were not ready to send their children to schools due to uneasy situation in the valley, including Srinagar.
But, despite schools remaining deserted, the Board of School Education (BOSE) issued date sheet for class 10th and 12 examinations from Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively.
Meanwhile, many private schools have rented rooms in different localities to conduct examination for students while others have said that they will promote students on the basis of home assignments submitted by children.
Advisor to Governor Farooq Ahmad Khan has on many occasions said that that government had reopened schools and colleges and it was for the students to attend their classes.
He had also ruled out any mass promotion and relaxation in syllabus and said such a measure will not be helpful for students who have to complete in different professional examinations.
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