Srinagar, Nov 20: The annual examinations for class 10th conducted by the J&K Board of School Education (BOSE) commenced in Kashmir on Saturday with COVID-19 safety measures in place.
The students at the various examination centers in and outside the Srinagar district were seen adhering to the COVID-19 SOPs like wearing masks, sanitising hands, and maintaining social distancing.
The proper social distance between the students writing the exams was also maintained by the concerned staff inside the examination halls.
The staff deputed for examination duty were seen examining the oxygen saturation of the students outside the exam centres.
In most of the examination centres located in Srinagar city, the heating arrangements were put in place for the students writing the exams.
However, the students from other districts complained that no heating arrangements were put in place for them during the exam.
The conduct of exams through offline mode amid COVID-19 remains a major school-related activity taking place since the pandemic in Kashmir.
Last year BOSE conducted the regular examination of class 10th and 12th through offline mode while adhering to all COVID-19 SoPs.
Given the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the number of exam centers since last year has almost doubled compared to the previous year.
A BOSE official said that various preventive measures had been put in place to minimise the spread of infection.
As per the official figures around 74,000 students have registered for the class 12th examination for which BOSE has set up 739 examination centres in government and private schools across Kashmir.
An exam centre for specially-abled students has also been set up at the Bemina office of BOSE in Srinagar.
The State Executive Committee of the Department of Disaster Management J&K has already ordered that students appearing in class 10th and 12th annual examination should carry the consent of the parents along on each day of their examinations.
The class 10th exams began with a social science paper and the students were seen in a happy mood while writing exams with their peers.
“We have kept the heating arrangement in the exam halls. All COVID-19 guidelines issued by the government were followed as well,” said a staffer at Government Higher Secondary School NawaKadal, Srinagar.