Mangaluru: As many as 29,397 students, including 27,633 regular fresh candidates, will appear for the SSLC examination in Dakshina Kannada. The examination will be held at 92 centres from Wednesday, with officials stating that all preparations have been completed.According to DDPI GS Shashidhar, the total number of regular fresh candidates appearing for the exam is from 524 high schools. The examination will be held until April 2. Authorities have put in place several measures to ensure the smooth and fair conduct of the exams, including webcasting at centres and the installation of around 1,800 CCTV cameras to prevent malpractice.Officials said the highest number of candidates are from the Bantwal BEO limits, followed by Mangaluru South and Mangaluru North. Seating arrangements have been made with 24 students in each classroom. Examination centres have also been inspected to ensure the availability of basic facilities, including ground-floor seating arrangements for children with special needs.In addition to the regular fresh candidates, 979 private candidates, 632 school repeaters and 153 private coaching repeaters will also appear for the examination in the district.Good response to the helplineMeanwhile, the SSLC helpline launched at the beginning of March has received a good response from students and parents. Laxminarayan, nodal officer for the SSLC examination in Dakshina Kannada, said many calls were related to subject doubts and queries on whether the examination would follow the blueprint question paper pattern. Parents also contacted the helpline seeking clarification on various issues.The helpline also assisted an anxious student who sought support ahead of the examination. The student was referred to the district health officer, who arranged counselling and necessary help.Officials said the helpline also received a complaint from a differently abled candidate who had been allotted an examination centre far from home. Since such candidates are not attached to any high school and centres are allotted online, the department has been informed to consider assigning centres closer to their homes from next year.
