504,414 students appearing in SEE this year

BY A STAFF REPORTER,Kathmandu, Mar. 21: More than half a million students are appearing in the Secondary Education Examination (SEE)  this year. The annual school-level exam is being conducted from March 28 to April 9.

According to Nandalal Paudel, Controller at the Office of the Controller of Examinations, Bhaktapur, a total of 504,414 students are expected to sit for the examination this year. 

He said, “We have distributed admit cards to 504,414 students. Of them, 253,627 are boys, 250,772 are girls and 15 are others.” 

Paudel said that approximately 2,057 examination centres would be set up across the country for the annual examination. He said that the office had completed all preparations and already sent question papers and answer sheets to the district-level educational units. 

He said that one superintendent would be deployed in each examination centre. Additionally, one assistant-superintendent at a ratio of 150 students, one invigilator at a ratio of 20 students, one examination assistant at a ratio of 200 students, one office assistant at a ratio of 100 students and 15 security personnel at each centre would be deployed to conduct the exams fairly.

According to Paudel, they had also made provisions for disabled students. He said, “Different question papers of science and math have been prepared for students with visual impairment.” 

Additionally, this year technical students will be taking exams with other SEE students from the same centre. Earlier, different centres used to be set up for the students of technical subjects. 

He said, “We are all prepared to conduct the exams and have already appealed to the provincial, district and local level education units for the smooth conduction of the exam.” 

Meanwhile, our Janakpur correspondent Vijay Kumar Sah reported that 81,768 students are appearing in the SEE from Madhes Province. The Education Development Directorate Janakpur informed that 295 examination centres had been determined in eight districts to conduct the examinations in a dignified, disciplined and fair manner.

Additionally, a total of 7,658 staffers including 297 superintendents, 530 assistant-superintendents, 4,095 invigilators, 807 examination assistants and 1,639 office assistants have been deployed in the province. 

In the province, out of eight districts, the highest number of students at 12,214 students including technical students (489) are appearing in the exams in Dhanusha district where 43 examination centres are set up. Likewise, 10,923 students in Siraha, 10,896 in Sarlahi, 10,038 in Parsa, 9,469 in Rautahat, 9,444 in Bara and 9,431 in Mahottari are taking the exams.  The lowest number of students at 9,323 are appearing in the SEE from Saptari district.

Dilip Kumar Thakur, director at the Education Development Directorate Janakpur, said that preparations were underway for the examination. He said that question papers had been collected at the Education Development and Coordination Units of Bara, Parsa, Rautahat and Dhanuha and the office of the District Police Office. He said that question papers at the remaining districts would be sent by Tuesday, next week.

Meanwhile, the number of students appearing in the SEE from Chepang community has increased in Chitwan. This year, 22 Chepang students of National Secondary School in Hattibang Village of Ichhyakamana Rural Municipality, Chitwan are attending SEE.

Lok Bahadur Margar, headmaster of the school, said that with a rising awareness among the Chepangs that children should be educated, there had been an increase in the number of Chepang students. He said a total of 23 students including 22 Chepang students are attending SEE  from the school this year. Out of 22 Chepang students, 20 are girls, he added. Hattibang Village is a Chepang settlement. 

The school informed that the Chepang community had started sending children to school at present. There are more female students than boy students from the community in the school and student drop-out has also decreased.

Bhumi Lal Subedi, the head of the Education Development and Coordination Unit, Chitwan, informed that 371 Chepang students were appearing in SEE from Chitwan. 

Similarly, a total of 10,916 students including 5,428 girls are appearing in the exams from 42 centres in the district.