Karnataka’s Minister for school education and literacy, Madhu Bangarappa reiterated that no grace marks like the ones awarded during COVID19 pandemic to improve the pass percentage will be issued this academic year for board exams.

Bangarappa addressed the press on Thursday following a meeting with the department officials. Minister Madhu Bangarappa confirmed that while the grace marks from the COVID period will not be continued, the original system of grace marks will remain in place. Additionally, the pass mark will revert to 35, up from the 25 marks during the pandemic.

This year, among II PU students appearing for board exams, 2.91 lakh are from the Science stream, 2.29 lakh from Commerce, and 1.92 lakh from Arts. In SSLC, there are 8.42 lakh freshers, 38,091 repeaters, and 15,539 private candidates.

Exams will be webcast at exam centers, which will be overseen by district commissioners. A 200-meter radius around the centers will be a prohibited area. During the examination period, Xerox, cyber, and computer centers within the prohibited zone will remain closed.0

To prevent examination irregularities, legal provisions have been put in place against those attempting to leak question papers. Adequate police personnel have been arranged to ensure smooth conduct of the exams.

To improve the SSLC and PUC results, a 20-point program has been set up, and monthly meetings are being held at the CEO level. Parent meetings will be scheduled every 15 days, with student progress reports being shared with parents.

Three sets of model question papers for PUC and four for SSLC have been made available on the official website.

The pre-preliminary examination will take place starting February 25 at the district deputy director (administration) level. Answer sheets will be evaluated the next day, and the results, including any weak areas, will be shared with students and parents. Steps will be taken to ensure that students address these weak points in the following days.

Regarding the Class 5 and 8 exams, the Karnataka School Examination and Assessment Board will not conduct common board set exams as per the Supreme Court’s order. However, he added that the state government has yet to contemplate the revision of the retention policy, the minister added.

Refusing to divulge details until the announcement of the next state budget scheduled on February 7, he said plans to introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI) in government schools and pre-university colleges, with details will be revealed by the Chief Minister in the upcoming budget.

“We have requested the Chief Minister prioritize teacher recruitment and school infrastructure in the budget. We have asked for the construction of 5,000 school buildings and the appointment of 50,000 teachers,” the minister said.

Also read: Karnataka: Private schools revolt