The tussle between the Maharashtra government and the Bombay High Court over the Class 10 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Class 12 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board examinations has left over 30 lakh students in a lurch with no clarity regarding their present or their future.
More than 16 lakh students of Class 10 SSC in Maharashtra are waiting for a decision regarding the assessment scheme for their board examinations, which have been cancelled. And, over 14 lakh students of Class 12 HSC have no clarity whether their examinations are going to be cancelled, postponed or conducted offline or online mode amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Bombay HC recently slammed the Maharashtra government for promoting students of Class 10 without examinations. It has asked the state to provide clarity on the assessment policy of Class 10 students. In addition, the state government has been directed to take a decision regarding Class 12 HSC board examinations.
More than our future, our present is left hanging while the state and the court are arguing with each other, said Shubra Pandey, a student of Class 12. Pandey said, “I do not know whether I should study for my examinations. I do not know whether they will be held, cancelled or postponed. The last communication from the state School Education Department said that our examinations are postponed to May-end. It is already May-end, so what happens now?”
Veenal Punjabi, a student of Class 10, said, “The state cancelled our examinations, which was a relief considering the seriousness of the pandemic. But now, the Bombay HC is questioning the state on how it can promote students without board examinations. We, as students, were not against examinations. We were against conducting offline examinations amidst a pandemic considering risks to our lives and that of our family members.”
Now, the state government has to submit its response to the Bombay HC. A decision regarding the marking policy for the assessment of Class 10 SSC board students is likely to be announced in the next few days.
