BENGALURU: Technology, touted as a true enabler, is turning into a hurdle for the students of dance and music. This year, students are being forced to run from pillar to post in the eleventh hour, thanks to the new method of filling examination forms.
Every year, Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) conducts three levels of examinations (Junior, Senior and Vidhwath) in Carnatic, Hindustani, instruments and dance subjects in May. This year too, exams will be held in the second week of May. For this, forms should be filled in before March 15. Every year, thousands of students from across the state write these exams.
All these years, forms were issued at a few centres. Students were told to fill the form manually, paste photograph and submit the same by paying fees. But this year, for the first time, the Board has adopted online mode of filling examination applications.
The process is quite complicated now, says S Yashasvi, who teaches Hindustani music at Uttarahalli. “One has to download the form, fill it online, and then take it in a pen drive and submit to the centres. Authorities concerned subsequently collect the form and issue a different one. Then to pay the fees, one has to go to the bank. This wastes the entire day. Earlier, the form-filling exercise would take maximum half an hour,” he adds. Forms have to be submitted during weekdays, which has irked many working parents. People from remote areas are facing more problems as many of them are not familiar with computers.
Soumya from Shivamogga said, “Unlike Bengaluru, people in Shivamogga are not so tech-savvy. They have to go to internet centre and buy pen drives to download the form.”When contacted, KSEEB director (other exams) K S Mani said people will take some time to adjust to any new method. “By adopting technology, we can issue hall ticket quickly and also declare results earlier. If needed, deadline can be relaxed,’’ he added.