Minister Bangarappa’s key announcements for SSLC and Secondary PUC exams

Bengaluru: Minister Madhu Bangarappa announced crucial updates regarding the upcoming SSLC and II PUC Annual Examinations.

The Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) is gearing up to conduct the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and Pre-University Course (PUC) final examinations, with a significant number of students enrolled for both.

Minister of Primary Education and Literacy Madhu Bangarappa told reporters on Tuesday, that a total of 6,98,624 students are set to appear for the second PUC examinations, commencing on March 1. Meanwhile, 8,96,271 students are gearing up for the SSLC board exams, scheduled to take place between March 25 and April 6.

Minister Bangarappa reassured the public that all necessary measures have been implemented to ensure the exams are ‘student-friendly.’ He expressed confidence in the students’ performance this year, highlighting the government’s decision to eliminate supplementary exams last year and introduce three board exams for SSLC and II PUC.

The KSEAB has identified 1,124 centers for PU examinations and 2,747 centers for SSLC examinations. Stringent measures have been put in place to prevent malpractice, including the installation of CCTV cameras inside and outside exam halls. Minister Bangarappa emphasized that strict action will be taken against any individuals found engaging in malpractice.

Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) in 2023 introduced three annual exams, labeled as exams 1, 2, and 3, for both Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) and second Pre-University (2nd PUC) students. This shift in approach by the state’s school education department eliminates the need for supplementary exams in SSLC and 2nd PUC.

Minister Bangarappa stated that under this new directive, students are now required to enroll for exam 1 to qualify for participation in exams 2 and 3. The objective is to offer students an opportunity to improve their overall performance. Subsequently, the best scores achieved across the three exams will be considered for preparing the final results.

Additionally, the 2nd PUC exam this year adopts the 80+20 pattern, comprising an 80-mark written test and a 20-mark internal assessment. This model, identical to the one used for the SSLC exam since the academic year 2015-16, aims to provide a balanced evaluation framework for students.

The complete exam schedules are available on the KSEAB website, and students are advised to stay updated. To alleviate student confusion, frequently asked questions have been compiled and published on the board’s website. Furthermore, informative posters containing examination details have been prepared for dissemination.