Thousands of students from the Science stream, who were barred from appearing for the HSC exams due to an error by the colleges at the time of admitting them to Class 11, will now be allowed to take the exams.
The decision came after the Yuva Sena intervened with the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), on behalf of the students.
According to board officials, with the exception of Mumbai, colleges across the other eight regions in Maharashtra were found flouting admission norms.
Explaining the norms for admission to Class 11, Sarjerao Jadhav, chairman of the MSBSHSE, Pune said that there were certain norms that had been laid down for students wanting to opt for engineering or medical studies after Class 12.
“Students wanting to pursue engineering after Class 12 must secure a minimum of 40 per cent marks in the SSC exams in mathematics, chemistry and physics; similarly those wanting to pursue medicine, should have the requisite marks in biology, physics and chemistry. However, many students were not admitted like that,” Mr Jadhav said.
This, however, came to light only after the board received the HSC examination applications of the students in November and hence, they were deemed ineligible and barred from appearing for the board exams.
“We were approached by 1,063 students from Sambhaji Nagar complaining of this and also got representations from students from other districts. Our activists held protests and took delegations to meet the board chairman stating that the students could not be penalised for no fault of theirs,” said Aditya Thackeray, chief of Yuva Sena.
Pointing to the problem and its solution, Mr Jadhav said that unlike Mumbai where the admissions to Class 11 were centralised and conducted online, the other regions do not have such a system and hence, such problems arise. “We have issued strict instructions to colleges from the eight other regions asking them to follow the norms, failing which the board will not entertain any such goof-ups from next year,” he said.