Student covers 285 km on 50 cc moped to appear for SSLC exam

Kalamassery: Overcoming the strict Covid-19 lockdown restrictions, an SSLC student covered a distance of 285 km on a 50 cc moped to give his exam in Kalamassery.

Ayyappan, along with his father Mani, travelled a whole day on Monday from his native Tirunelveli and reached Kalamassery on the eve of the exam, which was held on Tuesday.

Ayyappan was allowed to enter the exam centre only after the other students had taken their seats. He was given a separate classroom to give the exam. After the exam, the other students were let out only after Ayyappan left the centre.

Ayyappan and his father went to Tirunelveli when the exam was postponed. When it was announced that the exam had been rescheduled for May 26, school officials had on May 1 instructed Ayyappan to return and stay in quarantine.

Ayyappan obtained an online pass to return to Kalamassery. However, at the Kaliyakkavilai checkpost, he was told that he would need the pass issued by the collector to enter.

Ayyappan returned and managed to get the collector’s pass. But the pass given was for May 28, when the exam was scheduled for May 26.

He then managed to get a special order from the RDO to cross the border. He, along with his father, then left Tirunelveli around 5 am on Monday and reached Kalamassery around 6.30 pm.

At Kalamassery, however, their landlord was not keen on letting them to stay as they had come from another state. The matter was resolved after the police intervened. But the landlord moved out with his family fearing contracting an illness.

Pollachi student travels 100 km

Chalakudy: Sridevi came to know about the revised date for the SSLC exam just three days before it was to be held.

The student from Thirumoorthy hills in Pollachi almost missed the exam because her father had gone to the forests to collect honey. But when he returned early morning on the exam day, the two immediately left on a bike and covered over 100 km to the exam centre at the Nayarangady model residential school.

Sridevi, a javelin gold medallist in the revenue district sports festival, took the exam in isolation as per the Covid-19 guidelines issued for students coming from other states. She was then put in quarantine in the school and will stay there till the quarantine period gets over.

Sridevi and her family, who earlier lived in the Athirappilly panchayat, had moved to a forest about 6 km from Thirumoorthy Hills. The school authorities tried to contact her and inform her about the SSLC exam date. However, they could not reach her since her area was not under mobile coverage.

The school then sought the help of forest officials to get the message across to her. Sridevi got the news about the exam from an ST promoter.

She managed to reach the exam centre without any trouble as the school officials had sought the forest department’s help to ensure she did not face any hurdle in her journey.

The school is meant for ST girls. Of the 35 students of the school, 28 gave the exam there. The remaining seven were given exam centres in other districts.