The Karnataka government will close all borders with its neighbouring states to handle the coronavirus outbreak. Besides, the SSLC (Secondary School Leaving Certificate) and other examinations will also be postponed except the last PUC exam held today, March 23. Over 8 lakh students had registered to write the examination.
Initially the Department of Primary and Secondary Education were asked to take precautionary measures like allowing children to write the examination with masks, keep sanitisers in classrooms and changing seating arrangements to ensure sufficient distance between each students. But later, all the exams had been cancelled.
The SSLC examinations which were scheduled to begin from March 27 have also been postponed. Education minister S. Suresh Kumar stated that fresh dates would be announced in the first week of April.
The decision came after chief minister BS Yediyurappa set up a meeting with renowned heart surgeon Dr Devi Shetty and other ministers to set up a task force to monitor and control the outbreak of COVID 19 in Karnataka. The government has also decided to convert the 1,700 bed Victoria Hospital exclusively for coronavirus cases. Measures are also being initiated to add more government and private labs to test the number of cases.
Source: Deccan Herald