College principals said that the dip in scores for the SSC exams will affect admission of candidates in the upcoming junior college admissions season.

“The low passing percentage of SSC (from 85.05% last year in Mumbai to 74.94% this year) will be a big blow to them, especially in such a competitive environment. The idea of omitting oral exams was not the best decision,” said Rajpal Hande, principal of Mithibai Autonomous College, Vile Parle. “Assessing students only on the basis of theory in this day and age is very archaic of the state board.”

For years, SSC students have faced tough competition from their counterparts from national school boards but state board students still had competitive scores at the top ranks. This year, with the number of 90% and above scorers in the city dropping steeply, colleges feel top colleges as well as admissions to sought after bifocal courses will be out of reach for many SSC students.

Bifocal courses are those vocational subjects prescribed by the directorate of vocational education and training. These courses can be taken as optional subjects with Arts, Commerce and Science streams.

“Bifocal courses are the most sought after and usually find many takers, irrespective of the boards, as it is easier to score in those subjects. It looks like this year, state board students will have no space in the first merit list, especially for bifocal courses,” said the vice-principal of a city college.

In the CBSE results this year, Chennai region, which includes Mumbai, recorded a 99% success rate with several students scoring 90% and above. In the ICSE results, the state recorded a success rate of 99.85%. While only 6-10% students from non state board schools apply for FYJC admissions every year, many top scorers from the boards try to get into some of the most sought after colleges like St Xavier’s, Jai Hind, KC, HR, Mithibai, etc.

Principals are hoping that this year’s SSC result will serve as a wake up call. “The system is very unfair towards children, and the state board needs to understand this. We need to give a level playing field to all children and making changes to the exam system without understanding its ramifications on students’ lives is unfair,” said Ashok Wadia, principal of Jai Hind Autonomous College. He added that for better scores, the board needs to adopt an assessment system that is similar to other national boards so that state board students do not suffer during admissions.

First Published: Jun 09, 2019 05:23 IST