Students evacuated from SSLC exam hall after fire mishap in Mangaluru

MANGALURU :The Education Department shifted students to the nearest degree college building following an accidental fire at the SSLC exam center at Hira PU College at Babbukatte, near Thokkotu.The Hira College center was allotted to 208 students for the exam.Police Commissioner N Shashi Kumar, who visited the centre, said the fire began due to a short-circuit from a refrigerator in the biology lab on the first floor of the building.At 10.45am, 15 minutes after the exam began, the incident occurred.Students were immediately transferred to the degree college building.There were no casualties and the examination process was not disrupted.Arrangements for the exam were made by the department of public instruction,” the top cop reported.Kumar, CEO of Dakshina Kannada ZP, said: “Students who were writing the exam in four rooms were transferred to the degree college.Due to the time lapse, they were also given an additional 30 minutes.”37 out of the 30,606 students in Dakshina Kannada district, including 441, who had registered for the exam, did not show up.A total of fifteen students who had tested positive for Covid-19 took the exam.Meanwhile, 32 health-related students had to take the test in special rooms.