Pass percentage in results declared on Saturday show 12.31% drop compared to 2018
Students of Balmohan Vidya Mandir celebrate the results. Pic/Ashish Raje
AS the SSC results were declared on Saturday, a huge dip in the overall pass percentage has led to major debate and discussion in the education sector. Whether it is due to the changed curriculum, different pattern of examination or due to lack of internal assessment, which gave guaranteed 20 marks to most students, teachers and educationists are raising valid questions. Parents too have expressed disappointment that state-board candidates will lag in competition for class XI admissions, when compared to non-state board students.
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The overall pass percentage has seen a major drop in the last seven years. Maharashtra has recorded a pass percentage of 77.1 this year, which is a huge dip of 12.31% from last year's 89.41. The Mumbai division of state board, which ranks fifth in total nine divisions, has shown no improved performance. The overall pass percentage for Mumbai division has dropped to 77.04% from last year's 90.41%, a drop of 13.37%.
Maharashtra state education minister, Vinod Tawde, responding to the concerns, said, "Compared to last year's pass percentage, there certainly is a big dip. But it is important to note that this year, we stopped the practice of 20 marks for internal assessment which was introduced in 2008. In the year 2007, the overall passing percentage was 78%. And after implementation of internal assessment marks, the result soared to a whopping 87.41%. This shows that, in fact, the soaring of marks has stopped. This is important because evaluation should be done on merit. Just because you got good marks in SSC, taking a degree and remaining jobless makes no sense. We have all possible higher education facilities for those students who have not done well. Moreover, if anybody wants to give a retake, there is a repeater examination within a month."
Teachers, however, think that the combination of new curriculum and pattern has failed. "This year, on one hand, the curriculum was new and paper pattern had changed to activity sheet. So, three hours were not enough to solve the complete 100 marks paper. More so, internal assessment was stopped. The fact remains that non-state board students have continued to receive soaring high numbers, and so state board students will face injustice during admissions," said Uday Nare, teacher at Hansraj Morarji School in Andheri. Shashikant Gawas, from Masoom Trust, run by retired IAS officer Nikita Ketkar, said, "We have a total 74 night schools under our trust, which was built to help underprivileged students. For night school students, who do not have much time to study, those 20 marks for internal assessment were very important. More so, these students lag in good vocabulary to solve activity sheets of language subjects, which started from this year."
The high scorers from Mumbai
Krisha Shah 99.2%
Divine Child School, Andheri
Shah is elated with her score, while adding that she did not expect to be among the toppers in Mumbai. Interested in mathematics, she plans to pursue engineering. "But, I have not decided it completely, because my love for mathematics is more than engineering." A trained dancer, she received 15 marks for her achievements in performing arts. "It's very important to continue with hobbies and other interests because it helps you relax. In my case, it has helped me earn marks, too."
Sahil Vedpathak 98.6%
St Lawrence School, Vashi
"I was expecting around 95%, but the score has really come as a surprise." While he has already started preparing for engineering entrance examination, Vedpathak wishes to join computer engineering in IIT-Bombay. He continued his harmonium classes while preparing for SSC. About the new curriculum and the changed pattern, he said, "It was, in fact, good for scoring because it was more about understanding the topic rather than rote learning."
Ishita Gupta 98.2%
Oxford Public School, Kandivli
Gupta was expecting 90% and above and is happy to have surpassed her expectations. Following her father's footsteps, Gupta dreams of becoming a doctor and has already started preparations for the entrance examination. "Hard work, consistency and support are key factors in scoring well. But, it is also important to continue extracurricular activities." Gupta was part of her school's netball team.
Rare cases
Pramod Javalkar 75%
A student of SSC at the age of 30, Pramod Javalkar is visually challenged. A student of Maratha Mandir Night School in Worli, Javalkar, who suffers from retina pigmentation, was able to see perfectly till he was 14 years old. He started losing his vision after that and, by the age of 22, had lost it completely. "I appeared for SSC when I was 16 years old like any other student. But at that time, I was depressed as the condition had just started hitting me and I was losing my vision. I failed SSC then and I moved to my native place in Raigad to start a general store. After 14 years, I decided to complete my education and came back to Mumbai."
Pooja Chavan 89%
The daughter of a daily-wage worker on construction sites, Pooja Chavan, student of Guru Narayan Night School in Santa Cruz is elated with her score. "My dream is to become a doctor. I hope I will be able to join some coaching institute based on my talent as otherwise these classes have huge fees. But I am keeping a positive approach. If not medical I will continue to study science as that is where my interest lies."
Akshit Jadhav 35%
While there are 100% scorers, a much rare score is of a student from Mira Road, Akshit Jadhav who scored a perfect 35%. A passionate football player, who already plays for a football club in Mira Road, he says he is very happy to have passed SSC after failing class IX last year. "I failed in class IX when I was a regular student at Shanti Nagar School in Mira Road near my residence. I decided to appear for SSC privately instead of repeating an entire academic year. I was hoping to pass SSC, but a perfect score like this is interesting."
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