When contacted, SSC board chairperson Shakuntala Kale said, “I have spoken to top officials in the government and have been told that the deadline will be extended… The sports commissioner has also taken up the issue.” (Representational)

Scores of students, who appeared for Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination this year, are in danger of losing crucial marks due to the lockdown as schools and colleges have failed to submit their achievement certificates to the Directorate of Sports.

Students who take part in district, divisional, state or national, international level competitions are scored from five to 25. For this, schools and colleges were to submit details of their students along with their sports achievements. Some schools and junior colleges could submit them much before April 30, but many could not as the government enforced the lockdown resulting in the closure of schools and colleges.

Sunita Choudhary, a teacher from Garware College, said, “We have 27 sports students. We had almost finished the work of preparing the list and collecting copies of certificates when the lockdown happened.” Choudhary said the sports directorate had now asked them to upload details and certificates of students.

“The sports department wants us to upload a list of sports achievers on the college letterhead with stamp, seal and principal’s signature. When the college is closed, how will it be possible to complete the procedure? We cannot move out of our homes…” she said. A similar view was expressed by several teachers from other schools and colleges.

Sports Commissioner Omprakash Bokaria said he had already written to the Pune divisional board to extend the deadline for submission of sports achievements of SSC and HSC students by May 20.

“It is our responsibility to do it… Teachers should not be made to put in a request. Lockdown has delayed their process of submission. I have already spoken to top officials in the education department and am hopeful that the decision to extend the deadline to May 20 will be made,” he said.

In his letter to the SSC board, the sports commissioner said, “Sports students, who have excelled in various games, are in the danger of losing their marks as their institutes and associations have not been able to submit their achievement certificates. In the backdrop of this, it is necessary to extend the submission deadline to May 20,” he said.

When contacted, SSC board chairperson Shakuntala Kale said, “I have spoken to top officials in the government and have been told that the deadline will be extended… The sports commissioner has also taken up the issue,” she said.