Timeline for Panchayat elections pushes students into dark examination halls

Srinagar, Nov 04: The timeline for Panchayat elections which forced the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education to change the schedule and timing of examinations of classes 10, 11 and 12 has pushed students taking examinations in the afternoon sessions into dark examination halls.
Narrating their woeful tale, a legion of aggrieved students told Kashmir News Service (KNS) “the visibility of light in examination halls after 4.00 P. M is so poor that students can’t read out their question papers and script their answer sheets.”
Alleging that directive from the Governor Satya Pal Malik to Board of School Education to conduct class 10, 11 and 12th examinations in short time so that schools can be used as polling centres without any disruption has pushed students into the worst ever trauma and the parents of the aggrieved students said “under the rescheduled examination schedule students are forced to take examinations from 2pm to 5pm and keeping in view the poor visibility of light starting worsening further after 2pm due to bad weather the students choose to take solar lanterns examination centres to read out the question papers and script answer sheets with clear visibility.”
A top official of the Jammu and Kashmir Board of School Education on conditions of anonymity told Kashmir News Service (KNS), “had the examinations not been rescheduled under the directions from the administrative department and the chief electoral officer the examinations could have been conducted in forenoon session easily and students won’t have faced difficulties of poor visibility in examination halls as they are facing now when the examination is being held from 2pm to 5pm. Though we have pre-poned the examination timing 1:30pm but undisputed fact is that students face the problems of poor visibility in examination halls.”
He also said that the examination staff is equally facing huge problems in the evening hours when they come to board office Bemina for dropping answer sheets and collecting question papers daily as usual. They leave the Board Office not before 6pm. Last Saturday when snow hit transport services most of the teachers deployed for examination staff in south and north Kashmir could reach their homes by mid-night only.”