The first day of the SSC examinations on Monday did not come without its share of woes for students across the state. Amid complaints from many centres about paucity of desks, drinking water, power supply and proper ventilation, empty alcohol bottles found in one centre at Uppal created a furore. The incident triggered protests by students and parents, who criticised the negligence by the authorities in providing a student-friendly environment in exam halls.
On Monday, 78 students were booked for malpractice, and 31 invigilators suspended for negligence. With 22 cases of malpractice, Mahbubna-gar district topped the list. Besides, two cases of impersonation were booked at East Godavari and Khammam districts.
There were also complaints in some districts of invigilators distributing additional sheets instead of the main answer sheet. With the First Language Paper-I held in the state’s 5,849 centres on Monday, there were also complaints of multiple errors in the Telugu question paper, with questions on prose instead of poetry. An NGO for child rights said even basic minimum facilities such as drinking water, power, fans and desks were not provided in the 23 centres they visited. Many students had no option but to write their papers squatting on the floor, in rooms with no proper ve-ntilation, the NGO said.