The Karnataka School Board has seen an increase in absenteeism in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examinations this year. According to the Deccan Herald, more than 20,000 students were absent during the first examination and over 10,000 for the subsequent papers. This is the highest number in the last five seasons.
In a media statement, the Minister for Primary and Secondary Education, BC Nagesh, blamed private candidates for the absence. “A large number of students had registered as private candidates because they felt that this year also there will be no exam, and they will get promoted easily. Absence in this category was also high,” he said.
Earlier, the board had removed the minimum 75 percent attendance rule from this session due to which more number of students were allowed to appear in the exam as compared to previous years. According to The New Indian Express, the fear of failing in the exam left students absent as the exam was regular unlike the previous session. The report said that the students expected that the exam would be conducted like last year and due to the pandemic all the students would have multiple choice questions, but the scenario changed which created fear in the minds of the students and they chose to take the exam.
Documents available with The New Indian Express showed that before the pandemic, the number of students appearing for the exam was above 99 per cent. Only 4,203 students remained absent in 2017-18, while the number of absentees in 2018-19 was only 3,739. In the last session pre-pandemic, 99.15 percent students took the exam. However, after the pandemic, the scenario changed. In 2020-21, the number of students who left the exam remained low with 3,249 not appearing for the paper. The biggest change was seen in the current season itself with an average of over 15,000 absentees.
A teacher told Deccan Herald, “As per our analysis, the fresh students who were absent for the exam were irregular in the class and were not confident of clearing the exam.
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