Maharashtra: In a move that is aimed at easing pressure on Class X students who are weak in Maths and Science, the revised State Curriculum Framework for School Education (SCF-SE) — which was approved earlier this month — has proposed that state board students who don’t pass in these subjects and get at least 20 marks in the SSC exam can take admission in Class XI. Such students, however, will be required to take admissions in streams that do not have these subjects in Class XI as part of the curriculum.
The state government has given two choices to students who get between 20 and 34 (35 is the passing mark): They can either join 11th grade with a note on their results showing their lower scores or choose to retake the exams.
About The Move
The move, which has been welcomed by some educators, comes after requests from several parents to ease the pressure on their wards by reducing the criteria in maths and science for eligibility of admission in class XI. “This is a good decision. It will ease the pressure on students and encourage them to pursue higher education even if they are weak in maths and science,” said Mahendra Ganpule, a former school principal.
Statement Of Vasant Kalpande, Former Director Of Education Of Maharashtra
“A lot of students used to drop out in class X or after taking the SSC exam either in fear of not passing in maths and/or science, or after not passing in these subjects. Now, with this move, the number of students dropping out because of such reasons will drop significantly,” said Vasant Kalpande, the state’s former Director of Education.
However, some believed that the move will lower the quality of education in state board schools. “Lowering of marks is not a good idea. If the state government wanted to help students who are weak in maths and/or science, they should have given them an option of studying some other subject in Class X itself. What is the need to make a subject compulsory, and then lower the criteria for passing the board exam? This will have a demoralising effect on the students who will have a negative feedback in their mark sheets in case they score lower than 35,” said Dhanvanti Hardikar, an education expert.
