KATHMANDU: The National Examination Board (NEB) has completed all necessary preparations for this year’s Secondary Education Examination (SEE), set to begin on March 20.

Examination Controller Nandalal Poudel confirmed that all essential materials, including question papers, symbol numbers, and answer sheets, have been distributed to districts nationwide.

Poudel also mentioned a significant increase in the number of candidates, with 514,071 students registered for the examination, up from 464,785 last year.

A total of 2,079 examination centers have been established across the country. At each center, an assistant center head will be assigned if there are up to 150 examinees, with one invigilator for every 20 students. However, centers with fewer than 75 students will not have an assistant center head.

This year, three centers outside traditional schools have been designated, including a juvenile correction center and a prison. Students from two prisons in Kathmandu and Dailekh, as well as a juvenile correction facility in Bhaktapur, will take the examination at these locations. Additionally, students from the Sukhata HIV Shiksha Sadan in Kirtipur, including four HIV-infected candidates, will also sit for the SEE.

The examination will take place from March 20 to April 1, with daily exams scheduled from 8 am to 11 am. The first day will feature compulsory English, alongside Sanskrit for Vedavidyashram students and Arabic for Madrasa students.

The NEB is aiming to increase the pass rate to 70% under the letter grading system, compared to last year’s pass rate of 48%.