CHENNAI: A total of 8,86,939 students appeared for the Class X board exams across Tamil Nadu on Wednesday, the first day of the exams. Students wrote the Tamil paper on the first day. Many candidates said the exam was easy, with questions largely drawn directly from the prescribed syllabus.

According to an official release from the school education department, 8,98,837 candidates had registered for the examination, of whom 11,898 were absent. Wishing the students, School Education Minister Anbil Mahesh Poyyamozhi said the Class 10 boards may be the first board exam for many of them and urged them to approach it with confidence.

Meanwhile, the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services said 637 inmates lodged in prisons across Tamil Nadu are appearing for SSLC and HSC exams this year.