Valley students appear for Class 10 board exams
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir board Class 10 examinations commenced on Thursday amid a shutdown across Kashmir. Sporadic incidents of stone pelting were witnessed in the state as a delegation of Members of European Parliament (MEPS) arrived.
Accompanied by their parents and acquaintances, most students reached examination centres in private cars and bikes while many walked on foot as public transport was off the roads and shops closed. Many parts of the Valley, including Old City and south Kashmir witnessed stone pelting incidents .
Though the restrictions imposed after August 5, when the special status of the state was revoked, have been eased across Kashmir but a spontaneous shutdown against the government’s decision has continued in the Valley. Pre-paid mobile calls and internet services are still blocked. Deputy commissioners of different districts had asked students to contact them in order to avail special transport facilities that would be provided in ‘wake of the prevailing situation.’
Officials said 88,932 students were to appear in the examinations across the state, of which 65,000 of them were to appear in Kashmir. Some 911 exam centres have been established – 615 in Kashmir and 296 in Jammu.
J&K Board of School Education (JKBOSE) chairperson Veena Pandita said that the examinations went smoothly: “There were no untoward incidents and the attendance was above 99%. Examination centres were not disturbed by stone-pelters,” she said.
In the Valley, security forces were deployed on the roads and outside the exam centres. Groups of parents were seen outside the centres waiting for their wards to finish the exams as tensions were high in the region.
A parent said the government has deliberately asked MEP delegation to visit on a day when thousands of students and their parents will be visiting schools and exam centres. “They want to portra that Kashmiri people are going on with their normal lives. This has put our children under stress,” she said.some of the students and their parents faced hard time reaching the exam centres amid the stone pelting.