Bengaluru: The Second PUC results will be announced in the last week of April, said Minister for Primary and Secondary Education Tanveer Sait. In 2017, the results were announced on May 11.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru yesterday along with Director, Department of Pre-university Education C. Shikha, the Minister said that this year, over 69,0150 students had registered for the examinations and there were 4,000 absentees. “The decision of announcing the results by the end of April has been taken in the interests of the students so that they can pursue their higher studies and also, since Karnataka is likely to go for elections in the first week of May, we do not want to inconvenience the student community,” the Minister said.

To announce the results, 53 evaluation centres have been created this year. Last year, there were 42 centres. Two centres have been added in Kalaburagi for the first time. As many as 23,890 evaluators have been appointed this year, up from about 19,000 last year.

With these reinforcements, the results are expected to be announced by the last week of April. The supplementary examination will be conducted in May. Earlier, it was conducted in July. This year, there will be a provision for payment of the fee for revaluation and re-totalling online, he said.

Sait also said the results of the SSLC examination, which will begin on March 23, will be announced by the first week of May.

About the errors in Physics and English papers, Shikha said that an internal committee has recommended grace marks for the specific questions to an external committee. This external committee, which includes teachers from Kendriya Vidyalayas, will make the final decision on this subject, she added.

The answer key and scheme of evaluation of the examination are available on the website for students to go through and submit objections. With regard to several grammatical errors in the English question paper, Sait also said that a committee will be set up to see how question papers can be proofread while still maintaining their secrecy.

On the call for boycott of evaluation by Lecturers and Principals’ Associations, Sait said that the issue of their pay disparity will be resolved in the second report of the Sixth Pay Commission. He will be meeting the agitators on Wednesday to hold discussions, he said.

Sait said that he has asked for a third party enquiry into the memorandum of understanding between the Education Department and a third-party for an app called SchooGlink. “The idea for the platform was discussed with me after which there were many discussions among officials in the Department. However, after the MoU was finalised, it was not brought to me for approval. An enquiry will be conducted to find out how this happened,” Sait said.

Sait admitted that he has written a letter to the Chief Minister asking for a new Principal Secretary in place of senior IAS officer Shalini Rajneesh. “I am handling four portfolios. So, I need someone who can handle the pressure for me. It is only for administrative purposes that I have asked for a change,” he said.