It's not all about English vinglish, state board reminds HSC students

Time and again students who appear for their SSC examinations in languages other than English have complained about not being able to cope with the curriculum for HSC which is mostly available in EnglishKeeping this in mind the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education MSBSHSE had released a circular in 2013 making it clear that HSC students can opt to write their exams for one or more subjects in a vernacular language of their choice This circular was aimed especially at students from vernacularmedium schoolsTwo years later the state board is reminding schools to encourage students to avail of this option ldquoThis option has been made available for students so that they donrsquot give up on their education especially in subjects or courses of their choiceMany students end up taking the HSC examinations in English because there may not be a provision for writing exams in vernacular languages postHSC but that doesnrsquot mean they should give up on subjects of their choicerdquo said S Chandekar chairman incharge Mumbai divisional board VashiReaching outThe Mumbai divisional board office has decided to contact all vernacular medium schools in order to reach out to students and make them aware of this option Officials at the board highlighted that very few students have made use of this option in the past two yearsldquoThe total number is very low in cities like Mumbai but students from schools in Palghar and the outskirts of Thane do opt for this We want to reach out to more students so that they donrsquot miss out on this opportunityrdquo added ChandekarThe 2013 circular had stated that any student appearing for the HSC examination in English can opt to answer a few subjects in any other language including Marathi Hindi and Urdu The student will also be given question papers in the same languageldquoOften students find it very difficult to understand concepts in Biology and Chemistry when they are explained in English Our teachers have regularly been requested by students to explain the same concept in either Hindi or Marathi for better understandingThe fact that students can also appear for their papers in the same language will benefit themrdquo said a senior teacher from a Thane College Recently members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena MNVS had also taken up this matter with board officialsldquoWe wanted to make sure that no student loses out on pursuing subjects of their choice because of a lack of options The students will certainly benefit from having this particular option in place and it is important for them to know about itrdquo said MNVS member Sandeep Pachange