Class 10 girl attempts suicide over tough Mathematics paper

V Pooja (15), a resident of Padalam near Maduranthagam, is a student of Padalam Government Higher Secondary School. Her father Vignesh works at a private firm.

On Monday afternoon, the police said, Pooja came out of the exam hall feeling dejected over the tough paper and also discussed this with her friends. After reaching home, Pooja went to the kitchen, doused herself with kerosene and set herself on fire. On hearing her cries, neighbours rushed to her aid and called the ambulance. Padalam police have registered a case.

When contacted, the 104 health helpline and Tamil Nadu School Education Helpline 14417 officials said they had not received any distress calls related to the exam on Monday. In such cases, students have been advised to call Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline044-24640050 as well.

Maths exam not based on govt model paper, say students

Class 10 students found the Mathematics board exam paper tough to crack on Monday with most teachers predicting that the number of centums are definitely sliding this year.

So far, the language papers have been comparatively easier. “Section A one mark questions which is compulsory, was tough.

In addition, questions in section B were very lengthy,” S Kalavathi, a Class 10 student from Chromepet, said.

According to her, the five-mark questions in section III were also tricky.

K Savithiri, a Class 10 teacher of a private school in Pammal area, said many of her students complained that the question pattern was not similar to the model paper, which had been circulated by the government earlier. “This year, very few students can manage a centum,” the teacher added.

A senior official from the Directorate of Examinations, however, claimed that all the Maths questions were straightforward enough, adding, students who had prepared wellwould score.