Class X exam: Mixed reactions on Day One

CHENNAI: When the class X board examinations kicked off across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday morning, it made history of sorts. For the first time ever, students in every school in the State faced a common question paper.This is the first time the board examinations are being held under the new Uniform School Education syllabus, and is a break from the decades-old tradition of having examinations for many different boards.The uniform syllabus, the subject of much controversy especially over the past year, has done away with the various boards of education such as State, Matriculation, Anglo-Indian, etc.Despite the knowledge of what Wednesday’s Language-I paper stands for, its significance was lost for most parents and teachers who had come to examination centres to wish their wards luck. The tell-tale worry over the students’ performance in the exams were of a greater priority.“This is something new. So we naturally are a bit worried about what is in store,” said a teacher before the exam started. But soon the worry gave way to relief, as they found the question paper was easy. The paper was reportedly within the bounds of the workbook that had been provided for the changed syllabus.Apart from the fact that students across the State face the same question paper for the first time, the USE shift also signifies changes in the examination itself.  Meanwhile, as many as 13 convicts including three women convicts, from the Central Prison for Men and Women in Vellore appeared for the class X examin Puzhal Prison on Wednesday.