"One Minute Late" Rule Wrecks Many Inter Students

The "entry disallowed if late by even one-minute" Intermediate examination centres' rule introduced by the Board of Intermediate Education of Telangana has wrecked the academic year of many students across Telangana.

On Wednesday, many Intermediate students reached their examination centres just a little late, but the officials concerned refused to permit them entry into the examination halls reminding them of the BIE rule that students would not be allowed to take the examinations even if they were late by "one minute".

The students, who pursued their Intermediate for the last two years with several pains, lost their chance to write the examination thanks to the rule.

Several students who reached the centres a minute late and were refused entry, were in tears. Their parents, who spent thousands of rupees to enable their children to pursue their Intermediate courses, looked disheartened.

The students and parents at several examination centres railed against the BIE's rule. An angry parent asked, "What is wrong if the students reach the examination hall a minute late? There will be no earthquake or tsunami. But the students will lose a precious year if they are deprived of a chance to write the examination."

Said a student similarly, "Nobody will benefit from the one-minute late rule. And I myself lose if I enter the exam hall late since I will have lesser time to write the examination. I don't know why the Board authorities imposed this rule without thinking about practical problems of the students."

An Osmania University Professor, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that no student, especially of Intermediate, would come late to the examination hall intentionally. "Only very few students, due to various reasons, reach the examination halls a bit late. It is not correct on the part of the BIE authorities to deny permission to them. After all, we are human beings."

A senior journalist opined that the conditions in Hyderabad were very problematic. It was not easy for the students to reach the examination hall an hour in advance always. The routes to the examination centres were not familiar to all students, and some might mis-calculate and reach the centres a few minutes late, he said. He mentioned that the earlier policy was that the students could be allowed into the examination halls even half-an-hour after the commencement of the examination. "The students will lose their own time and get fewer marks if they are late. But preventing the late-comers from writing the examination will ruin their educational career and leading to suicidal tendencies," he opined.