Srinagar, Oct. 20 -- The Class 10 board examinations began on Monday in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh with over 97,000 students appearing. Officials said 1,003 examination centres have been set up across Kashmir, the winter zones of Jammu division, and Ladakh. Secretary, J&K Board of School Education, Sheikh Ghulam Hassan said that the examination centres were spread across the 17 districts of the Union Territory and the two districts of Leh and Kargil. "The examinations have been going on smoothly. Seating arrangements have also been made adequately. The students were satisfied. We made every effort to make sure that students do not face any problems in the examinations," he said. The examination centres witnessed a rush of students, many of whom arrived with their parents across the summer capital much before the reporting time. "I am appearing for the first time in an exam outside my school. I have prepared well, but still I am so tense," said a student waiting outside Islamia Higher Secondary School in the Old City. The JKBOSE had announced the date sheets for Class 10, 11 and 12 regular batches in three separate notifications in September. The Class 10 exams will end on November 18, while for Class 11, the date sheet has been set to start from October 29 and will end on November 30. The Class 12 examination will start on October 21 and end on November 21. The exams are held in October and November in the Kashmir Valley before the onset of harsh winter months in December, when the Valley is often covered in snow and temperatures plunge below zero....