MUMBAI: Clearing uncertainty, school education minister Varsha Gaikwad on Thursday announced that HSC (Class XII) and SSC (Class X) examinations in the state will be held from April 23 and April 29 respectively.
While results for the HSC exams are expected by the last week of July, SSC results are likely to be out in the last week of August.
The HSC and SSC board examinations will conclude on May 29 and May 31 respectively. While speaking to the media, Gaikwad said that the practicals for HSC have been scheduled between April 1 to April 22 and for SSC it will be held between April 9 to April 28.
The offline written exams will be allowed to be held by following all Covid-19 guidelines issued by the Centre and the state public health department from time to time, said the minister. Students who would be quarantined during that period, can appear for re-examination, which will be held after the main board exam, she said. The minister had earlier said that the latest the board examinations can be held is the first week of May as the summer is at its peak thereafter followed by the monsoon.
Schools have been allowed to resume physical sessions for classes IX to XII from November 23. “As on January 4, about 15.7 lakh attendance has been registered in 19,524 schools which has increased to 21.66 lakh students in 21,287 schools, on January 18. So, 76% of students are attending schools,” she said.
With the board exams dates now announced, Mumbai schools too want their students to have at least a few days of physical classes. “A lot of our students don’t have access to e-learning and mobile phones. They are losing out on academics. If they have to be prepared for their board exams in April, they must have at least a few months in the classroom,” said the principal of a school in Kandivali. Cambridge International schools which begin board exams later this month too have demanded they be allowed to reopen. The BMC has however asked schools to remain shut till further notice.
Meanwhile, addressing the increasing complaints regarding school fee collection, the minister said that the government has already issued instructions to all schools that education should not be stopped. She assured that the education department will act against the school if parents register a complaint.