It is likely from the next academic year that the SSLC and II PU examinations will be conducted by an examinations authority.
This will put an end to one of the long-pending demands of the department of primary and secondary education to merge the Karnataka Secondary Education Examination Board (KSEEB) and department of pre-university education.
According to the sources in the department, the authority will be formed on the lines of the Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA), which conducts exams for professional courses.
The government has constituted a committee to give recommendations for the setting up of the authority.
The committee is headed by Anbu Kumar, commissioner for the department of public instruction.
“As per earlier discussions, the March/April examinations in 2020 were supposed to be held under a single board. But due to various reasons, including the pandemic, the same was put off,” said a source in the department.
“Considering the fact that common examination boards exist in most states, a similar proposal was discussed. But looking at the administrative difficulties and considering the number of staff and children in schools, the government is thinking of setting up a separate examinations authority,” the official said.
The department has set aside Rs 50 crore for the creation of a common examination board.
“One of the main reasons for dropping the concept of merging the boards was opposition from the employees. The employees of both the departments objected to this,” officials said.
Under the new plan, a senior IAS officer will be appointed to look into both SSLC and PU examinations. The commissioner for public instruction and director of the department of pre-university education will manage other administrative works in the respective departments.
“The government is waiting for a report from the committee to finalise constitution of the authority,” said an official source.
Every year, over 8.5 lakh candidates appear for SSLC exams and over 6 lakh write II PU exams.