Anxiety reigned supreme during this year's HSC board exams, as students feared both the COVID-19 and the offline test after two years of virtual schooling. Some said they were denied a level playing field because of the government’s decision to hold the state board exams offline, while students from other boards wrote their papers online.

The fear followed multiple failed attempts to go online, including a Supreme Court case. After being out of practice for two years, HSC students in the state wrote exams in-person this year. Consequences: Too many complaints and concerns were raised, including being unable to finish the entire paper in the given frame time and the exam's level of difficulty.