Mangaluru: After improving its rank from third to second in a year, Dakshina Kannada is aiming to emerge on top in the 2018 SSLC examination in the State.

Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat is preparing to hold a video conference with SSLC students this month to get them rid off examination fear and guide them how to make the best use of the two-and-a-half hours of examination, to score well.

In addition, it has begun mentoring such students who have been scoring less than 40 marks to help them pass the examination.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the panchayat M.R. Ravi told that the panchayat has written to the State Institute for Rural Development (SIRD) requesting for slots to hold satellite linked video conferences with SSLC students in the taluks.

Once the slots are allotted, experts would interact from the panchayat’s studio at Kottara with students by calling them to the respective taluk panchayats where the conference facility is available. “We have adopted a three-pronged approach to improve the performance,” he said.

He said that psychologists and other experts would interact with students through video conference to help reduce their fear and how to prepare for the examination. They would be guided on how best to answer the questions within the given time. It is a general approach.

As the second approach subject-wise mentoring of students who have been failing to score above 40 marks has begun in schools. This is being done after consulting subject associations of teachers. With this, poor learners are getting personal attention. Teachers identified have been attached with a fixed number of students to mentor.

As a third approach authorities concerned in government hostels for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and minorities have been instructed to motivate the students.

Mr. Ravi said that he reviewed the preparedness to face the examination on December 6, 2017, when there were 100 days left for the 2018 examination.

Y. Shivaramaiah, Deputy Director, Public Instruction, Dakshina Kannada, said that 29,500 students from 503 high schools in the district would appear for the examination. Of the schools, 169 are government schools and 120 are government aided private schools.