CHENNAI: Some heaved a sigh of relief, while others just got more worked up over what is in store for them over the next three weeks. The Class XII public exams got off to a smooth start across the State, with the Language-I paper, on Thursday. “I was really tense when I went in. But after the first ten minutes it felt like any other exam. After a while there was no time to think about anything else because there was a question paper to answer,” said a candidate, after stepping out of the exam hall at the Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Ashok Nagar.
With strict restrictions on movement inside the premises of the exam halls, a number of parents sat outside, waiting for their wards to finish.
As can be expected in such a setting, talk everywhere revolved around what the ‘cut-off’ marks would be this year.
“The cut-offs are going to be a problem. It is like this every year. Naturally, all parents would be worried about the marks their children are going to score,” said Daniel, a parent waiting a short distance from the CSI Monahan Girls Higher Secondary School, where his daughter was taking her examination.
Once the exam was done, candidates flocked together in bunches around each other or around teachers to conduct a post-exam analysis of how much they were likely to score. The discussions pleased some and upset others. “The paper was easy overall, but I have made a few mistakes. I must ensure I don’t make such mistakes in my other papers,” said Soundarapandian, a private candidate.
35 PRISONERS TAKE EXAMS IN JAIL
Among the 7.61 lakh candidates who took this year’s first paper in the Class XII board exams were 35 prisoners. While 33 of the prisoners were from the Puzhal Jail, two were from Vellore. Candidates are shifted from Vellore to Puzhal for the exams but an exception had to be made this year as Perarivalan and Murugan, who are on death row for the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, were also taking their exam. Rules do not allow death row convicts to be shifted.