Goa: HSSC exam begins with too few temp scanners

PANAJI: The Class XII exam for first of the three remaining subjects was held on Wednesday by the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. Though only 3,818 students answered the exam on the first day, a shortage of thermal screening machines was witnessed. In many exam halls in Panaji and Vasco, students were seen entering exam halls without being screened.
Board officials said that thermal screening machines were arranged for later and students were screened after sitting in the examination hall.“There was a slight shortage. But we managed to arrange thermal screening machines and all 3,818 students, who appeared for the exam, were screened,” said Goa Board chairman Ramkrishna Samant.
The exam began with the Marathi language paper on Wednesday and will end on May 22. But while the state faced a shortage of screening machines with just 3,818 students, 19,680 students are set to answer the Class X board exam starting Thursday. The Class X exam will begin with only 365 students answering the exam on the first day and the main papers will start from May 23, when all of the over 19,000 students will be appearing for the paper.
On the same day the board fell short of thermal screening machines, the state government produced before the high court of Bombay at Goa, the conditional permission to hold the public exams, granted by the Union home ministry. The permission was granted based on the condition that the provision for thermal screening will be made at the centres.
But apart from the shortage of screening equipment, the exam on Wednesday was conducted smoothly with teachers and volunteers employed by the board ensuring that social distancing was maintained while students entered the rooms. Students were provided with sanitiser and parents were kept 200m away from the exam halls, ensuring there is no crowding.
The students were also seated far apart from each other during the exam.