BENGALURU: The Secondary School Leaving Certificate Examinations (SSLC) began on a happy note across the state on Thursday where students who attempted the Kannada (first language) paper were happy over the easy paper. Rakshith CN, a student said, “Kannada is my favourite subject and I am happy that the paper was easy.” Sathwik, another student said, “Day one was easier than I expected.”
However, three cases of malpractice were reported from Bagalkot district and they were debarred from writing the exams. Of the 7,89,596 candidates registered to write first language, 7,64,697 appeared for the paper while 24,899 were absent.
Question paper ‘leak’ sparks chaos
However, around 11.30 am, a few minutes before the conclusion of the exams there was chaos as a copy of the question paper was circulated on WhatsApp in Raichur. Verifying the same, board officials said it was not a paper leak but it was due to the negligence of the invigilator. V Sumangala, Director (Examinations), KSEEB, said, “Images of the question paper were circulated through WhatsApp in Raichur around noon.
After investigation, it appears to have been taken by some miscreants to create confusion among the students. The question paper might have been taken out by some students who left the centre before the completion of the exam, or some unauthorised person may have obtained a copy of the question paper.” “This comes under the provisions of section 24A of the Karnataka Education Act 1983. Section 115A provided for a minimum punishment of three years and maximum penalty of five lakhs,” Sumangala added. A complaint was later filed at Lingsugur police station.