Koppal, Ballari, and Vijayanagara districts face SSLC challenges

Education departments in Koppal, Ballari, and Vijayanagara districts are under pressure to improve SSLC examination results this year. There was a noticeable decline in performance for the 2023-24 academic year compared to the previous year. Koppal's ranking fell from 16th to 31st, while Ballari is now 28th and Vijayanagara dropped from 10th to 27th. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah suspended Vijayanagara's DDPI due to this decline. The situation has been worsened by new departmental rules. These include the removal of grace marks and requirements for webcasting during exams. Vijayanagara district has set up 71 examination centres for about 22,700 students. However, 1,714 students were not allowed to take the exam due to missing attendance requirements. To help struggling students, special classes were organized for 6,611 underperformers. The preliminary exams had a success rate of 78.6%, with hopes to rank in the top five districts. Ballari has also taken steps to improve its results, moving from 31st to 28th place. The district conducted two preliminary exams and regular tests to boost student performance. In Koppal, the ranking fell from 16th to 32nd in the past two years. Officials held numerous meetings to tackle this issue. Schools were assigned nodal officers for better academic monitoring. They also implemented a ‘passing package’ strategy to assist students based on their abilities. Concerns have arisen about a fake mathematics question paper circulating on social media just a day before the exams started. The DDPI reported the issue after finding the counterfeit paper online. A police investigation is now underway, adding to the worries already faced by students in the region.