Mumbai: Despite board error-correction, student can’t find college seat

The first mark sheet which shows that the student scored 18 out of 100 in Bookkeeping and Accountancy; (Right) Sushmita Kori and the mark sheet with her correct results

A Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) student who was initially failed by mistake but later declared passed by the state board is now facing difficulties in securing admissions. While some colleges have informed her about no available seats, others have not responded even after a week.

When HSC results were announced on May 25, Sushmita Kori, a student of RD National College in Bandra, was initially marked as eligible for re-exam. According to her mark sheet, she had received only 18 out of 100 in Bookkeeping and Accountancy, a core subject. On June 6, Kori requested a verification of her marks. Despite this, the board responded that her results were correct based on their evaluation of her answer paper. However, Kori persisted in pursuing her case.

The Bookkeeping and Accountancy exam follows an 80:20 format, with the written exam accounting for 80 marks and an application-based test (internal assessment) for the remaining 20 marks. Kori had scored 17 out of 20 in the internal assessment. She questioned how she could have scored just one mark out of 80.

Upon reviewing her answer sheet, state board officials discovered that she was given the wrong sheet. The sheet actually belonged to another male student. On June 14, Kori received a corrected mark sheet, indicating she had scored 65 marks in the subject she was earlier failed in. Her overall score increased from 51% to 58.83%. This story was covered by mid-day on August 16.

While the admission rounds have concluded, seats remain available for students who re-took the exam in June. Although the HSC re-exam results were announced on August 28, Kori has not yet secured admission.

"I visited L S Raheja College in Santacruz, my first choice, but was informed that BCom seats were filled. They suggested I apply for a management quota, but their website isn't functional. I also attempted to apply to my own college, R D National College, where I completed my HSC. After correcting the university form with the updated marks, I submitted it to the college. It's been over a week, and I haven't received a response. If others who passed the re-exam apply for admissions, there might not be any seats left," said Kori.

Kori has requested board officials to provide her with a cover letter stating that she was wrongly failed. "Officials informed me that the letter wouldn't be necessary, but it seems doubtful," she said.

"The board hasn't issued an apology letter to the student or her parents for the inconvenience they caused. We are also assisting her, and I urge college principals to aid her and consider her case," said Nitin Dalvi representative of NGO Maharashtra Rajya Vidyarthi, Palak, Shikshak Mahasangh (Maharashtra State Student-Parent Teacher Federation).

The principal of RD National College, Neha Jagtiani said, "We are working continuously to help and guide our students. We have seats left aside for our in-house students. The student can get in touch with us and we will help her. There are seats available."

May 25
Day HSC results were announced