PSEB boards: 30-km travel to exam centres irks students

Aparna Banerji

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, February 24

The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) has drawn the ire of villagers in the district for allocating examination centres to students 25 to 30 km from their schools.

Sarpanches of Kotli Than Singh, Dhakhriana, Parsarampur, Talhan and Sarnana have written to the PSEB chairperson seeking a change of centres. They said students of their villages, a majority of whom are from economically weaker sections, will have to travel up to 30 km to make it to the examination centre. It is for the first time that such anomalies have been seen during the board centre allocation. As many as 30 centres are also off the Class XII board exam list this year.

While Kotli Than Singh has at least five schools in a vicinity nearby, the government has allocated it a centre all the way at Adampur which is 30 km away.

Panches and the school management say it would be impossible for students to make it that far as their parents are mostly daily wagers and can’t afford to arrange transport for them. The letter sent to the board chairperson has been signed by five Sarpanches and 56 students.

Besides Kotli Than Singh, centres for schools at Isharwal and Uccha have also been made far away. While Isharwal’s centre has been made at Hazara (20 km away), that of Ucha school has been made 10 km away at Talhan. At these two centres, 177 students are appearing for the board exams. Additionally, a total of 132 students from the Kotli Than Singh School would appear for the Class X and XII board exams.

Sources in the Education Department said the board never consulted local officials for the allocation of centres. The Class XII board exams are to be held from February 28 to March 24 and Class X board exams from March 14 to March 29.

Bakshish Singh, a teacher of Kotli Than Singh School, said, “There is a condition that the centre should at least have 50 students, our school fulfils the condition but has still been granted a far-away centre. The children are from very poor families. They walk to school from villages three to five km away. How will they travel such a long distance?”

DEO (Senior Secondary), Jalandhar, Harinder Pal said, “The total number of centres has been reduced. The list in any case is made by the board. However, the distance isn’t that much between the school and the centre.”

PSEB chairman Balbir Singh Dhol said the centre was being changed to a nearby school. “The board office is open for two days. Such a complaint also came for the Bundala centre in Jalandhar, which has also been changed.”

However, the DEO said the centre hadn’t been changed so far.