SSC Day 1: Candidates say Marathi paper was easy and short

Students outside St Sebastian Goan High School on the first day of the SSC examination. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Amidst a lot of apprehensions regarding the new syllabus for the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination, about 2 lakh candidates appeared for the first paper - Marathi - on Friday.

The examination went smoothly and many of the candidates spoke of how the language paper was easy, and not lengthy at all. The application-based question paper set by the Maharashtra State Board was certainly a hit among the students, who also said that Balbharati's online tutorials helped them a lot.

Gaurav Kale, a student, said, "There was a lot of apprehension as we were the first batch appearing for the exam based on the new syllabus. We depended a lot on the Balbharati tutorials, and it has been of great help."

Speaking about the question paper, another student, Saourabh Surase said, "There was no need of rote learning. There was enough time to write the paper, which is usually not the case with language papers."

Sharad Khandagale, secretary of the Mumbai division of the State Board, said, "There were instances of candidates arriving late at examination centres, but we were very strict about the timings. No one was allowed in after 11.20 am. We also have a sympathetic approach towards students coming to our office for last-minute approvals of special arrangements. As many possible students are being allowed to appear for the examination."

Case studies
Vishal Maurya
Son of a vegetable vendor from Thane
Vishal was one among the many who were spotted waiting in a queue outside the State Board office in Vashi for a special approval. He has requested the authorities to arrange a writer for him, as he would be unable to write the exam due to a surgery, which he underwent on Thursday. "I have prepared for the exam sincerely. Now just because of this I don't want to lose an academic year." He further said, "My left palm had developed an abscess, which had to be removed through surgery. Even though I am right-handed, there will be problems in using the scale and doing diagrams for Science and Geometry."

Kajal Mandhare and Kritika Mehta
students of Helen Keller institute
Both these girls, who are hearing impaired and partially blind, will be appearing for the exam with help from an interpreter. The person will explain the questions to them through tactical sign language using touch.

A Board official said, "These students had earlier requested for question papers with larger fonts, but that will not be possible. The other option is to allow them take the help of an interpreter. They have also been assigned exam centres close to their homes and will be given additional 20 minutes for every hour of exam time."

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