The dates for examinations for Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) are out and will be conducted between June 25 and July 4 in Karnataka next month, state’s Education Minister S Suresh Kumar quoted as saying by ANI. According to Kumar, exams for English paper of Pre-University Course (PUC) will also take place next month on June 18. The minister was expected to hold a meeting with the department officials today and discuss the examination schedule as well as feasibility for conducting primary and secondary education examinations.

Earlier, the examination was expected to take place on March 27 but it had to be postponed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown on March 24 owing to the Coronavirus outbreak. It is to note that around 8.5 lakh people were likely to take the examinations in March this year. The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) had earlier cancelled all the board examinations for students in 10th standard across the country except North East part of Delhi.

While the minister has announced the dates for the SSLC exam, it is yet to be seen the kind of arrangements that will be made by the state to ensure the implementation of social distancing guidelines. Apart from this, many students who were earlier staying near to the closest examination centre have gone back home and the state government as of now has not released any statement on managing it.

S Suresh Kumar had earlier said that a majority of students want to appear for the exams given that they had been preparing for it throughout the year. Meanwhile, the HRD Ministry is discussing when to resume schools in India. The schools were ordered to remain shut since March and there is no clarity as to when it will resume. The classes are being held via digital platforms as of now.