The Hindu : Record registration for SSLC exams

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 13, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Record registration for SSLC exams

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. Feb. 12. As many as 37,184 more students will be writing this year's SSSLC examinations, commencing on March 10, when compared to the examination of 2003.

This year, 6,20,540 candidates have registered for the SSLC examination. Of this 2,92,165 candidates are girls. The total number of candidates in the SC/ST category who have registered for the examination is 68,287.

In the 2003 examinations 5,83,356 candidates had registered for the examinations and 5,75,624, had appeared. The pass percentage for the year was 62.87. As the Government has decided to introduce the grading system from the next examination onwards, this will be the last SSLC examination where ranks will be awarded. This year, the examinations will be held only in the forenoon--from 10 a.m. to 12 noon.

There will be 2,650 examination centres this year. Of this, 16 are in the Gulf region and 9 in the Lakshadweep islands. The question papers for the examinations will be despatched in two consignments. The evaluation of the answer sheets will commence on April 2 and will end on April 24 and will be done in 49 centres. This year, both the SSLC and the Higher Secondary examinations will have the same answer sheets.

The total number of candidates scheduled to appear for the SSLC examinations in the Malayalam medium is 5,64,288, while 49,024 candidates are from the English medium stream. While 2,991 candidates are from the Tamil medium schools, 4,237 candidates are from the Kannada stream.

Of the total number of candidates who have registered, 4,71,147, are from the `school going' category. While there are 33,179 candidates in the `private, over-aged' category, there are 10,1,916 `private, full course' candidates. As many as 2,259 candidates are writing only group A papers, while 10,520 are writing only group B papers. There are three candidates in the `military' category (servicemen who have written matriculation elsewhere, but are writing the Malayalam paper so that their matriculation is recognised here) and two, who are writing only Hindi.

This year, the examination fee has been brought from Rs.60 to Rs.30. Similarly, the fee for the SSLC certificate has been reduced from Rs.30 to Rs.15.

According to Government figures, the number of students who had written the first SSLC examination in the academic year 1956-57 was 47,260. Of these 21,109, had passed. By the year 1967, the number of candidates who wrote the SSLC examination had crossed the one-lakh mark. Of the 11,78,242 candidates who wrote the examinations that year, 71, 338 passed.

A decade later, in 1977, the number of candidates writing this examination had swelled to 3,09,025. That year the pass percentage was 41.7(for both boys and girls), with 1,28,961 candidates passing the examination. In the examination of March 1987, the pass percentage had risen to 49.3, as did the number of candidates who appeared for the examination— 4,40,912. By the year 1997, the number of candidates writing the examination had become 5,59,435. That year 2,84,554 candidates passed the examination.

By the examination of March 2000, however, the number of candidates who registered for the examination had fallen sharply to 4,50,676. In the following years the numbers recouped and climbed back above the five-lakh-mark last year.

The Government has also put in place stand-by arrangements, this year, to handle any shortages in teachers for evaluation. The DEOs have been asked to prepare a list of teachers who can be deployed, at short notice, if and when necessary.

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