Inter exams begin amid hiccups; students rate question paper easy

Hyderabad: On the first day of the Intermediate Public Examination, a large crowd of students, along with their parents, were seen outside the exam centres on Wednesday. Despite the Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TS BIE) asserting that all arrangements were in place, some students, particularly those assigned to a private college at Mehdipatnam and Tarnaka, reported inadequate facilities at their examination center. These shortcomings included dim lighting and a lack of water facilities, as per the students' statements.

According to TSBIE officials, as per schedule, intermediate first-year examinations began in 1,521 centres across Telangana, with a staggering 4,88,133 students appearing for the first-year exams. The number of absentees on the first day was 19,641, resulting in an overall absenteeism rate of 3.86 per cent. The exams were conducted peacefully, and no untoward incidents were reported in the city except for three malpractice cases reported in Nizamabad, Janagon, and Karimnagar. For the intermediate first-year students, the first paper was in a second language.

According to TS BIE orders, students were permitted to enter if they were late by only one minute, but not beyond that timeframe. This rule was implemented in numerous colleges across districts, with instances reported, such as three students not being allowed to enter the centre at Vikarabad. In the city, some students were observed arriving late due to confusion in locating their exam centres, despite the provision of the Centre Located app by the inter-board. Parents pointed out that the confusion arose from multiple centres having similar names.

"There was a lot of confusion in locating the centre, and it is the fault of the college management. It would have been better if they had guided the students about the centres a day before the exams," said M Krishna, a parent. He mentioned that reaching his daughter's centre took more than two hours from their house, leading to them being late.

Students who had their exam centre in a private college at Mehdipatnam and Tarnaka reported inadequate facilities. They mentioned the absence of water facilities, improper illumination in the exam hall, the lack of fans, and the absence of a wall clock. Sunil Rao, an inter-first year student whose centre was at LB College in Mehdipatnam, expressed dissatisfaction, stating, "TSBIE should have inspected all centres before issuing approval for the exam centre." Another student, Ranjith, who had his centre at ISO Junior College in Tarnaka, mentioned, "The exam went well, but the college did not provide drinking water facilities."

Meanwhile, Principal Secretary (Education) to Telangana Government Burra Venkatesham made a surprise visit to Sri Chaitanya Junior College, one of the exam centres in Jubilee Hills. He directed the officials to take appropriate measures to ensure that students do not face any difficulties during exams. He also instructed them not to allow mobile phones into the centre.

Opinions of students

Seshagiri, an inter-first-year student at MNR College, said, “The exam was easy. We could finish it early due to extensive revisions beforehand.”

Renuka, a first-year intermediate student at Loyola Junior College, said, “This is my first public examination. I was a bit nervous about the question paper initially. However, on the first day with the second language paper 1, I found the question paper to be effortless and was able to answer all the questions.”

“Public exams are usually challenging, but this year I found it easy, as I could answer all the questions. I’m hoping to get a good score this year,” said Aparna, another first-year student.