On Tuesday, the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education accepted form 17 (application for private candidates) from a 15-year-old dyslexic student and will allow her to appear for the SSC exams starting March 3.
The decision was made after the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights issued an order directing the state board to make an exception in the girl's case and allow her to appear for the exams. "The girl may be allowed to appear in S.S.C. examination as (a) special case and S.S.C. board should modify its rule in case of (a) child who needs special care," read the commission's order.
"It is a great relief. She was studying but was constantly worried that she may not be able to appear for the exams as she had missed out on the internal exams," said the girl's mother.
According to the girl's parents, the class teacher and counsellor at GD Somani Memorial School had recommended that they shift her to Nalanda Foundation School, which is actually an organisation that only helps students prepare for exams. "We were told that my daughter would find the ICSE curriculum difficult, so we should shift her to SSC. So we left the school and were given a leaving certificate on August 23," said the mother.
However, when the girl was filling her form for the SSC exams, she was found to be ineligible and, hence, was at risk of losing out on a year. According to the board regulations, if a student desires to appear in March as a private candidate, his/her name should not be on the roll of any recognised secondary school on or after July 1 of that academic year.
"We received the order from the child rights commission and, hence, have made an exception. Fortunately, even the board chairperson was in town today and agreed to allow the girl to appear for the exams," said Laxmikant Pande, chairperson of the board's Mumbai division.
The commission has also directed the school education department to initiate appropriate action against GD Somani Memorial School. "(The) School has violated provision of Chapter 5 of persons with disability (equal opportunities, protection of rights and full participation) Act, 1995, and guidelines issued by ICSE board by not giving (an) honest suggestion. Merely saying that (the) school authorities were not aware about rule and regulation of S.S.C. board cannot protect the school," observed the commission in its order.
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