For the first-time in the history of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, the pass percentage in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) Class 10 board exams has stood at 93.25 per cent compared to last year's 53.14 per cent. Mahek Ileshkumar Gandhi and Sanjeeva Anjaneyulu Sanku, have topped in BMC schools by securing 96 per cent in SSC board exams.
Gandhi, a student of BMC Mumbai Public School (MPS), Vile Parle, shifted from an ICSE board school to a state-board BMC school after Class 9. "I was weak in Maths and could not score well in my ICSE school. I shifted to a BMC school in Class 10 because my parents are teachers in municipal schools. It was a tough decision. The COVID-19 pandemic affected my exams and delayed the paper assessment, I was scared about my scores," said Gandhi.
Gandhi scored 95 out of 100 marks in Mathematics. Gandhi said, "I did not attend any tuition. My teachers and parents helped me to study.” She would practice singing in between her studies to refresh my mind." Gandhi wants to pursue the Arts and appear for the UPSC exam in the future.
Sanku, a student of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Mumbai Public School, Worli said, "I studied daily but I was not expecting such high scores. I would study the easy subjects in the night. Also, I played badminton, cricket and kho-kho. Sports helped me to take my mind off studies." Sanku wants to pursue Science ahead and become an engineer.
This year, 12,716 students of BMC schools passed in the SSC Class 10 board exam out of a total of 13,637 who appeared. The pass percentage stood at 93.25 per cent compared to 53.14 per cent in 2019, 73.81 in 2018 and 68.91 per cent in 2017. Also, 76 BMC Mumbai Public Schools (MPS) secured 100 per cent results. Mahesh Palkar, BMC education officer said, "Students have performed well. This is a major improvement in the performance of BMC school students, who are otherwise looked down upon. It is a combined effort of students, teachers, faculty members, parents, state-board and municipal education staff."
