Maharashtra SSC Result 2023: Fake Hindi timetable led to students failing class 10 exam

Mumbai: A number of students in the city failed the SSC exam as they couldn't appear for a paper due to confusion over the exam timetable.

The students fell prey to a fake timetable that circulated before the exams. Many students failed to check the official board schedule and did not present themselves for the Hindi (second or third language) examination, and ultimately getting a fail mark in their results.

According to the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) official timetable, the paper was scheduled for March 8, but the fake timetable showed it to be on March 9. When students reached the exam hall, they were turned away.

The performance in the subject also dipped this year as compared to the last both in the state and city in particular. While last year the pass percentage was 97.31% in the state and 97.26% in the city, it dropped to a low of 94.58% and 94.19% in the state and city respectively.

Thresia Sini, Principal of St. Xavier's High School, said, “Out of 195 students in the batch only one student did not get the passing marks due to the fake timetable. The student did not appear for the Hindi examination and was thereby marked absent. The school did request the board on the day of the exam but things didn't work out in the last-minute chaos.”

A few students at Padmashri Annasaheb Jadhav Vidyalaya, Bhiwandi had also missed the exam due to confusion. "Two of our students came crying to me after they couldn't take the test. We couldn't do anything as the paper had already taken place," said Sudheer Ghagas, Head Master of the school.

The parents of these students also made a request for a special examination which was declined by the board. The state School Education Minister Deepak Kesarkar had remarked that the exam board is not at fault in this case. "The students were repeatedly told not to believe the viral schedule on social media, but they believed it anyway. These students will now have to take the supplementary exam which will be held in July," the minister had said.