Will the SSLC Exams be Impacted and Schools Will be Closed on March 22 Due to Karnataka Bandh?

The Karnataka Bandh is scheduled for March 22, 2025, because of this parents, students and teachers are in confusion whether schools will remain open or closed.

The bandh, organized by pro-Kannada groups, is a protest against the Greater Bengaluru Governance Bill and recent incidents in the Belagavi region, where a conductor of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (NWKRTC) bus was attacked for not speaking in Marathi.

The Karnataka bandh has been scheduled at the time of exam season. The Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) 2025 examinations were scheduled to begin on Friday, March 21, 2025. As per the officially released schedule, the exam is on Friday, no examination is scheduled for Saturday, the day of the bandh. However, in some of the Karnataka schools, there are exams on Saturday for lower classes and as per the Associated Managements of Private Unaided Schools in Karnataka, these exams are most probably expected to be postponed. The authority has expressed concern regarding this, posponing or cancellation of examination can disturb students’ timetables.

The General Secretary of the association, TNN reported D Shashi Kumar said, “We want to participate in the protest, but we can only extend moral support due to the ongoing exams across the state. Cancelling or postponing them will affect children, which we don’t want to happen.”

Transportation in Bengaluru is surely expected to be affected due to the bandh scheduled on March 22, 2025. On this day, Ola and Uber cab services will be unavailable as drivers have pledged their full support for the bandh. Along with this, a significant number of autorickshaws, around 2 lakh autorickshaws will not operate, on which numerous students were depended for their daily travel. However, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has not confirmed the functioning of the buses yet. Limited availability of transportation options may cause difficulty for students to safely reach their schools.

As the date is coming near, many schools have started taking precautions. To overcome the effect on students studying, many schools have started organising online classes or rescheduling internal exams. All students and their parents are asked to stay in touch with the school authorities for updates. Bandh’s participation and the availability of safe transportation for students will decide whether schools will remain open or closed.