Promote all Class X Tamil medium students in Maharashtra and other states, Ramadoss urges TN govt

CHENNAI: PMK leader S Ramadoss on Friday urged the Tamil Nadu government to treat Class X Tamil medium students studying in schools in other states on a par with the students in TN and Puducherry and declare them all pass.
There are around 300 such students. The Tamil Nadu government’s indifference to the Tamil medium students outside the state was “injustice,” Ramadoss said in a statement.
On June 9, the Tamil Nadu government announced its decision to cancel Class X board exams and to promote around nine lakh students. Ramadoss wondered why Tamil-medium students in Maharashtra and Karnataka could not enjoy the same provision.
On Thursday, the Tamil medium students in Asia’s biggest slum, Dharavi, and neighbouring places in Mumbai took to social media to express their situation.
With the help of activists and Tamil organisations, a group of Class X students tweeted their handwritten letters tagging the official handles of chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and education minister K A Sengottaiyan. The students said they would end up losing one year if the TN government did not take a positive decision and declare them all pass.
Though the students attended 200 days of regular classes and wrote quarterly and half-yearly examinations, they are categorized as private candidates by the TN education department. Education department officials stated that the examinations would be held for these students along with private candidates.
While the authorities have not announced the schedule for the examination, teachers and parents stated that it was not feasible to hold the examinations amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.
The results for Class X board examination would likely be announced by Maharashtra by the end of next month and the admission to Class XI (junior college) would begin. Without a marksheet, the Tamil-medium students would not be eligible for enrolment. This would put these students under tremendous mental agony, Ramadoss said.