Maharashtra: As board exams approach, angry pupils take to the streets

The students were moved from Shiv Sena Bhavan to Shivaji Park and asked to leave after submitting their memorandum. Pics/Ashish Raje

A section of students opposing offline state board examinations protested in Dadar on Friday. The students demanded that the exams be held online since the entire academic year was online. Many of them also pointed out concerns about COVID-19.

Students seen during the protest at Shivaji Park

Long opposed to offline examinations, students of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) have intensified their protests as exams approach. In the past two weeks, there have been multiple gatherings at various locations. The one in Dadar saw a major turnout. Local police reached the spot to control the situation.

"If we have studied online, why should we give exams offline? If online exams are not possible everywhere, they should have a blended approach. If not that, then board exam evaluations can be based on internal assessments along with project submissions. We do not understand why the government is insisting on offline exams," said Chaitanya Dandekar, a student from St. Rocks' College in Borivli.

When questioned about gathering for a protest amid a pandemic, Dandekar said, "The crowding will multiply during exams."

Nilesh Jadhav, a student from Tilak Nagar Junior College in Thane, said, "With an online academic year, we didn't have writing practice. Completing the exam will be an issue." As students started gathering near Shiv Sena Bhavan on Friday afternoon, local police diverted them to Shivaji Park, where students were asked to submit a memorandum and head home.

Meanwhile, the BMC education department issued guidelines to schools for the safe conduct of board exams. Other than asking schools to adhere to COVID SOPs, the guidelines also ask schools to clean the premises thoroughly if they were used as isolation centres. "Several civic schools doubled up as isolation centres early on in the pandemic. This year, each school is going to be a board exam centre. It is important that all schools remain available. If any school is still offering its premises for isolation, it should be stopped," a circular by the BMC Education department said.