Students’ dilemma: To board or not to

This picture has been used for representational purpose

Students of Class X and XII from non-state board curricula are gearing up for term-end exams, scheduled in November and December. State board students, however, are still waiting to hear about their board exams.

A state board school teacher in Khar said, "We have been seeking clarity from the state board right from the start of the academic year. Even as board exam classes have reopened for physical teaching in July, in urban areas such as Mumbai, offline lectures have begun only in October. All this is definitely going to have an impact on the teaching-learning process."

If it is going to be only one annual exam, then students fear a repeat of what happened in the last academic year when board exams had to be cancelled due to restrictions during the second Covid-19 wave. Learning a lesson from the past, non-state board schools have changed the exam pattern. Bifurcation of the academic year was decided with two term-end exams, instead of one annual exam.

The syllabus and paper-pattern, too, were rationalised accordingly. If the second board exam cannot be held due to any reason, result will be declared based on students' performance in the term exam. Owing to all the planning, students from non-state board schools are now prepping for the first term exam. But the state board is undecided on its policy.

"It affects those students who honestly put efforts. If other boards could change the policy accordingly, why couldn't the state board?" asked Rashmi Jha, a parent based in Goregaon. According to sources from the school education department of the Maharashtra government, a meeting was held in this regard on Friday. When contacted, Dinkar Patil, Chairman, Maharashtra State Board, said, "For now, the plan is the same for annual examinations as per every year."