Coronavirus outbreak: SSC Geography paper cancelled

The SSC Geography exam was scheduled on March 23. File pic

The Maharashtra State Board has decided to cancel the remaining paper of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination - Geography. The state government took the decision after chief minister Uddhav Thackeray announced a lockdown extension till April 30 in Maharashtra.

State Education minister Varsha Gaikwad on Sunday made the announcement through a video message on her Twitter handle.

Moreover, in a major sigh of relief to class IX and XI students - the board has cancelled their final examinations too. All will be graded based on their performances in previous exams so that they can begin studies for the next academic year.

The SSC Geography exam was scheduled on March 23 but was postponed until further notice after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown.

However, Sunday's decision has put an end to the anxiety of several SSC students and their parents who were under stress. In Mumbai division alone, around 4 lakh students were appearing for SSC examination.

Former Chairperson of the Maharashtra state board Vasant Kalpande, congratulated the state government for taking this decision and said, "This is definitely the first time in the history that this has happened. But in such unprecedented times, it was certainly required."

When asked if there is a provision to explain how to grade students in such conditions, Kalpande said, "There are no clear guidelines for such situation as this has never happened before. But state government has powers to take a suitable decision in such cases, with the help of experts from the state board."

Meanwhile, SSC exams of a few vocational courses which too were left pending have been cancelled and the process to grade students will be explained by the board in the near future.

When contacted Shakuntala Kale, Chairperson of the Maharashtra state board said, "There are no such ready guidelines as such to deal with a scenario like this. We will have to take a decision in consultation with the state government on how marks can be given for these papers which are cancelled."

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