The first-year Intermediate Public Examination for Telangana students had a smooth beginning across the state that began on Wednesday (March 2). The examinations started on a unique note with not a single case of malpractice being reported on the first day from anywhere in the State. The state government’s elaborate arrangements to check use of unfair means in Inter examinations seemed to have paid off well.

On the other hand, several students were denied entry into the examination hall on the first day of the exam, with the Board of Intermediate Examination (BIE) strictly implementing its rule of denying entry to candidates even if they reach the examination venue a minute late. Pleading parents and students had to return with disappointment as the gates were closed and locked at 9 a.m., the scheduled time of the examination.

However, the BIE Controller of Examinations, Susheel Kumar denied that those students reaching late by couple of minutes were not allowed. He said, “The one minute late rule, which everyone is talking about is not a new rule, but is being implemented since the last three years. Today, no student has been stopped for being a minute late. Only those coming 15 to 20 minutes late have been stopped from entering the venue since the OMR sheets are opened by 9.15 am. And that too, only three cases from the city were reported but they all came quite late.”

According to the BIE officials, a total of 456,148 candidates appeared for the exams while 26,518 abstained in the second language paper. The percentage of attendance was about 94.51%.

“Observers were sent to different examination centers in Nalgonda, Mahabubnagar, Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts. The exams were conducted peacefully without any untoward incident,’’ Dr A Ashok, secretary of BIE said.

Meanwhile, the Hyderabad Collectorate informed that of 72,532 registered candidates from the district, 69,769 appeared and 2,763 were absent. A total of 34 examinations centers have been set up across Hyderabad district.

In the morning, roads in the city were blocked with lakhs of students trying to reach their examination venue in different colleges. Parents who accompanied them to the venue also added to the increased population on the roads. Traffic jams were seen at several places where the examination centers were located.

Officials advised the second year students taking the exam on Thursday to be cautious and reach the venue 30 minutes earlier than the scheduled time to avoid disappointment.