Mumbai: Students and parents have raised the issue of low marks scored in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board examinations. Vinod Tawde, state education minister of schools, has assured the students that they would get a fair chance to apply for the admissions to First Year Junior College (FYJC). The state government is planning to discuss with the Indian Certifcate of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to consider only theory marks for FYJC admissions. This year, the pass percentage of SSC board was 77.04, which is 12 per cent lower than last year. The percentage dipped as internal assessments for language subjects were scrapped this year. Students failed in the examination or could not score good marks as there were no internal tests.
Large number of students have complained of scoring less marks in language subjects. Vidya Agarwal, a student, said, "I scored only 50 marks in Marathi and 60 in Hindi. I could have scored more if there were internal assessments." Students claim these low marks will make it tough for them to secure admissions to FYJC. Tushar Desai, a student, said, "Our scores have dipped and we will not be able to secure seats for the desired stream in the college of our choice. I scored good marks in Mathematics and Science but internal assessments would help me to score higher in language subjects too."
In addition, students complained to the state claiming FYJC admissions will get tough as there are students from ICSE and CBSE board too. Vinod Tawde, said, "We will discuss with the heads of ICSE and CBSE board to drop internal marks scored by students while applying for FYJC admissions. Students of all boards will get a fair chance for FYJC admissions if only theory marks are considered."
