MANGALURU: Karnataka Public School, a government school at Montepadav in Bantwal taluk of Dakshina Kannada district has come up with a unique initiative to encourage SSLC students to appear for the exams.
The vice-principal of the school, inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, created an invitation titled '2021 SSLC Parikshotsava' encouraging the teachers, worried parents and students to take part in the 'Pariksha Utsav'.
Vice-principal of the school Santhosh Kumar T N speaking to The New Indian Express said that during these Covid-19 times, students and their parents are worried and confused about whether to send their children to appear for the exams or not.
"This mentality of theirs is due to fear of the virus. They are worried about whether their children are safe. They are concerned whether the schools are taking necessary safety measures to protect the children from contracting the virus," he said.
Earlier the students from Kerala were supposed to sit along with those from Dakshina Kannada district. However, the government has released new guidelines and the schools have been asked to prepare separate rooms for Kerala students.
Already few SSLC students have tested positive for coronavirus. Students and parents are also partly worried about appearing for the exam outside their schools. Proper transport facilities are also not available.
"PM Modi has also appealed to the students to consider it as 'Pariksha Utsav'. So I came up with this creative idea as students are afraid that they will get infected due to prejudice and also they have anxiety about the exams. My intention is to enable the students and parents to have a free mind while they enter the exam centre," he said.
Meanwhile, the school headmaster has sent the invitation to the students and their parents through WhatsApp. They have also put up a flex in front of the school welcoming students, their parents and teachers to the 'Parikshotsava' and also a compartment through which students will enter the sanitized exam centre after thermal screening.
The schools through the School Development and Monitoring Committee (SDMC) will also be providing biscuits and water to the students as there are chances that students arrive early at the exam centre without having food. It is also a futuristic step of the vice-principal to attract more admissions to the government school. As many as 250 students from four schools will be appearing for the SSLC exam, out of which 32 are from Kerala.