Mumbai: From now, students appearing for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) class board examinations will not witness the word ‘fail’ in their marksheets as per a government resolution (GR) released by the state school education department on Thursday. Instead of the word fail, ‘eligible for skill development programme’ will be mentioned for those students who fail in more than three subjects in the July-August 2020 HSC examinations.
In an attempt to prevent discouragement among students, those who fail in one or two subjects in July-August 2020 HSC examinations will have the remark ‘eligible for re-exam’ while those who do not clear three or more subjects will have the remark ‘eligible for skill development programme’ printed on their marksheets.
While for the ongoing February-March 2020 HSC board examinations, students who do not clear three or subjects will have the remark ‘eligible for re-exam’ printed on their marksheets.
In both the cases, students who fail in HSC exams will have to appear for the re-exam in order to achieve their degree or seek admission for higher education. Prashant Redij, secretary, Mumbai School Principals’ Association, said, “It will not help students academically as they will have to anyway appear for the re-exam in order to gain their degree. It will just help them psychologically as there will be no mention of the word ’fail’ on their marksheets as it generally raises a negative thought.”
According to the provisions of the Maharashtra State Skill Development department, students who fail in HSC board exams can pursue careers in sectors such as agriculture, fashion designing, electronics and hospitality in institutes affiliated to the Maharashtra State Skill Development Cell.
A senior official of the state education department, said, “The idea behind eliminating the word fail is to reduce the negative impact it causes on students. Some students can opt to pursue careers in sectors which require skills and practical know-how instead of academic knowledge.”
