– Dipta Joshi (Mumbai) The state government’s cancellation of the school-leaving class X SSC exam of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), because of rising Covid-19 cases in the state, has aroused fears of class X students from 21,000 MSBSHSE-affiliated schools being at a disadvantage when competing with students from CBSE, CISCE, IB and other schools for admission into junior colleges (classes XI-XII) of their choice. This year 1.65 million students of state board schools were scheduled to write their class X exams from April 29-May 20. But on April 20, the state’s education minister Varsha Gaikwad announced cancellation of this school-leaving exam. Maharashtra follows a 10+2+3 education system with higher secondary classes XI-XII commonly referred to as junior college. This system classifies class X students as school-leavers and requires them to seek fresh ad[1]mission into junior colleges. Class X exam results are thus an important determinant in securing admission into the best of the state’s 7,000 junior colleges where admission cut-offs are in the 80-90-plus percent range for all streams. Moreover, junior colleges admit class X school-leaving students of all boards including CBSE, CISCE, etc on the basis of their average scores. This intensifies competition for admission into class XI aka FYJC or first year junior college. In the past academic year 2020-21, 2.83 million students registered for admission into junior colleges in the Mumbai metropolitan region under the state’s centralised online admission process. Little wonder ad[1]mission cut-offs of top-ranked junior colleges which are often integrated with undergrad colleges such as St. Xavier’s, Mumbai are 95 percent-plus. Traditionally, students from schools affiliated with national boards (CBSE, CISCE) score highly in class X exams due to the more lenient marking system of these boards compared to their state board counterparts. This is because the national boards follow a system under which board examiners award 80 marks for answer papers and the remaining 20 marks are awarded by affiliated schools’ teachers. State board school parents believe internal marking gives CBSE and CISCE students advantage against MSBSHSE students — all of whom compete for FYJC admissions. The education minister’s announcement that the minis[1]try will “work out a process to mark state board students on the basis of internal assessments,” has not assuaged parents’ fears. “Nobody expects the class X assessments to be fair this year if the onus of awarding marks is on schools rather than board examiners. With all schools shut down for the past year because of the pandemic, CBSE and CISCE affiliated schools conducted well-planned tests and projects evaluation. On the other hand, state board schools have been unable to conduct internal assessments, home assignments, check daily online attendance and project work continuously. Thus with no uniformity in teaching and marking systems of exam boards, marks assigned through internal exams will not be reliable. There will be a huge number of undeserving students who will clear class X. Had the state government heeded our demand to hold online instead of offline exams in urban…
