New PIL to challenge internal evaluation pattern for SSC

After the PIL challenging the cancellation of the SSC exam was withdrawn from the Bombay High Court the petitioner will file a separate petition to challenge the internal evaluation pattern Even as SSC students and parents are confused about how the results will be given the state has cancelled the HSC exam and said its result will also be based on internal assessmentA retired professor from Pune Dhananjay Kulkarni had filed a PIL against the cancellation of the Secondary School Certificate SSC examination last month After a few hearings the Bombay High Court concluded the case allowing the petitioner to withdraw the matterldquoThere were three points on which I had approached the court One was completely doing away with exams and the second was whether it would lead to unfair std XI admissions Since both these points have been resolved as the Common Entrance Test CET is to be held for std XI admissions and the SSC exam will be conducted later for those unhappy with the score given through the internal assessment So I have decided to withdraw my original petition But the third concern of internal assessment remains unresolved and so I will be filing a separate PIL in this case I have already submitted a letter about this to the Bombay High Courtrdquo said Kulkarni who has pointed out that in the pandemic as students face a huge digital divide not all students have access to online education it is not going to be a fair marking system with a 5050 formula for SSC resultsAfter the SSC exam was cancelled in April considering the pandemic conditions Kulkarni filed a PIL against this in May After the HC asked the state government to submit an affidavit to justify its decision to cancel the exam by providing an alternative way of assessment the state governmentrsquos education department declared a 5050 formula for the SSC result As per this method the SSC result this year will be a compilation of the academic records of every student from std IX and X While there have been three exams held for std IX for this batch last year before the pandemic outbreak throughout the std X academic year there have been internal assessments in schools Both these marks will be put together for all subjects to declare the SSC results which can be used for First Year Junior College FYJC admissions This was the biggest concern for SSC students and their parents A CET will be held for FYJC admissions however it will be optionalHSC exam also cancelledThere wont be an Higher Secondary Certificate HSC examination in Maharashtra this year considering the pandemic conditions The state education minister made the muchawaited announcement about this on Thursday after final pending approval from the Disaster Management Committee The HSC result will be based on internal assessment The date and formula of the result will be declared in few daysldquoConsidering the pandemic conditions and impending HSC exam students were under tremendous mental stress These students have been studying under the same conditions of uncertainty for the past 14 months Considering all this the state government has been promoting an alternative method of assessment and also encouraging uniformity in such a process in all types of boards Following this the Maharashtra state has taken the decision to cancel the HSC examinationrdquo said Education Minister Varsha GaikwadShe added Several meetings were held with stakeholders starting from students parents teachers to even schools and education experts and all had suggested cancellation of the regular examination followed by results with internal assessment We are committed to declare the HSC result soon and through a fair process The date of the result and the process to be used to determine it will be declared soonrdquoGaikwad has also reiterated the need of declaring teaching and nonteaching staff working for board results as frontline workers The state education department had earlier expressed this to the state government in March 2021 Now that result work needs to gain speed it has been reiterated so that these staff members can be vaccinated on priority5050Formula suggested by state government for SSC result