Bangalore, March 16: The second pre-university examination commenced at 923 centres across the State on Thursday, with nearly 3.5 lakh students appearing for the history and computer science papers on the first day.
all set: A student prays before writing the examination at a centre in Hubli on Thursday. KPNThough strict security measures were in force, it did not deter students from attempting to copy. At least, 13 students had to face ignominy when they were caught copying and subsequently debarred, the Department of Pre-University Education (DPUE) said.
Bijapur district accounted for three debarments. Two students each were debarred in Belgaum, Kolar, and Dharwad districts. One student each was debarred in Bagalkot, Gulbarga, Hassan, and Chikballapur districts.
Most students caught copying were using chits as mobile phones are banned in the examination hall. They have been debarred for one to two attempts, based on the severity of the “offence”.
According to a DPUE official, a student will be debarred for one attempt even if he/she has not noted down answers from the chits he or she is carrying. Such students will be debarred from writing the upcoming supplementary examination. Students who note down answers from their chits will be debarred for two attempts. They cannot appear for the main exam in 2013 also.
The punishment may be increased if a student indulges in criminal activity such as manhandling the invigilator, etc. In such cases, he/she may be debarred for three years or six attempts.
The DPUE refused to divulge details of the debarred students, stressing “we do not look into individual cases”. These cases, the DPUE said, were handled at the district level.
Caste column erased
The caste column mentioned in students’ hall tickets was erased with a whitener by invigilators before answersheets were distributed, as per a direction of the DPUE.
The mention of a student’s caste in his/her hall ticket had created a furore after a few students’ organisations objected to the practice. They had argued that mentioning a student’s caste could influence invigilators who may ignore an instance of malpractice if a student from their caste is involved.
The DPUE, however, expressed its inability to recall the hall tickets as they had already been distributed. It later said that the mention of caste in hall tickets would be whitened out.
‘Easy but lengthy’
Students found both the history and computer science papers easy. History paper, however, was lengthy and many struggled to finish it. Sheetal Surendra, a student of Mount Carmel PU College, said that she could not finish the paper. “The paper was very lengthy. I really had to rush through in the last 15 minutes,” she said.
Sonal Tilesara, also from the same college, found the history paper lengthy but managed to finish it. Students at St Joseph’s PU College described the invigilation as “very strict”.
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