Students wearing face masks as a precaution against the coronavirus, attend classes as Schools reopen after being closed for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Srinagar, Kashmir.
Sajad Hameed

On Wednesday, Maharashtra school education minister Varsha Gaikwad declared that students of Class 9 and 11 would be promoted without examinations. And while students are cheering about the decision, there is some trepidation when it comes to the impending board examinations.

"In the wake of the current Covid-19 situation, all state board students of Classes 9 and 11 will be promoted to the next class without any examinations," Gaikwad had informed.

In response to this situation, students have hailed this decision as being much-needed. Parul Shah, a Class 11 student said, "Our admission process for First Year Junior College (FYJC) was dragged for over nine months. Regular online classes were not conducted properly. I am glad we are promoted without exams because we had no time to prepare."


Students also said this decision will affect their academic performance next year when they appear for Class 10 Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Class 12 Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) board examinations.

Biswajit Bhambara, a student said, "SSC and HSC are major hurdles in our academic career. If we do not have a strong academic learning in Classes 9 and 11, it will adversely affect our performance in Classes 10 and 12 board examinations next year."