In a major relief to the students, finally, the last examination paper of Geography subject of the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board Class 10 students, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, has now been canceled. On April 12, Varsha Gaikwad, Maharashtra education minister of school and higher secondary education announced that the pending examinations of SSC board along with second-semester exams of Class 9 and 11 (FYJC) have been canceled.
On Sunday, Gaikwad tweeted and posted a video stating, "Due to the coronavirus outbreak, we've decided to cancel the second-semester examinations for Grade 9 and 11. Also, we've decided to cancel the last examination which was unresolved for Grade 10." This statement was released to clear the confusion among SSC students and parents about their pending exams.
Students need not worry about their marks of this exam as the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) will soon decide on how to mark them. Sandeep Sangve, Secretary of MSBSHSE, Mumbai division, said, "We will decide on how to mark students for this exam which has been canceled. The state education ministry has directed us to decide on the marking scheme. Students need not worry as we will announce our decision in the next few days."
On March 21, the Social Science Paper 2 Geography exam of the SSC board to be held on March 23 was postponed by the state education minister. Since then there has been a lockdown in Maharashtra which has now been extended till April 30.
Authorities of the state education department revealed the exams have been canceled for the safety of students. A senior officer of the department said, "We have canceled the exam due to the lockdown as a preventive measure against the spread of COVID-19. We had already canceled all state school exams from Class 1 to 8. Now, we have canceled the second-semester exams of Class 9 and 11 along with the pending exam of Class 10. We are glad we managed to complete all exams of Class 12 (HSC) board on time before the lockdown."
