On day two of the HSC exams, several students who worked their pens as fast as possible were still not able to complete the English paper. An error was also spotted in one of the question sets.
Students, who received the set C question paper, were left confused while attempting a question in the grammar section due to an extra blank. In question 1 (b), students were expected to rewrite the sentence using articles. The sentence given to the students was "_ my friend is _ able translator and _ impartial editor as well." Students said that the first blank, which was not required, confused them and hence they spent a lot of time deciding what to do.
The board's helpline also received several calls asking them about the question. "We have instructed the students to write to the board so that it can be discussed," said a counsellor from the helpline. Board officials, however, said "We cannot comment right now whether it is a mistake or not. It will emerge only after board of studies meeting and if the question is found to be incorrect, appropriate marks will be given to students."
The students were the first batch appearing for the revised syllabus. "The paper was extremely lengthy. I missed out on eight marks in the paper even after making sure that I attempted the objectives well" said Siddhi Rane, a science student from Bhandup.
Experts said that the paper length can be attributed to the increase in writing skill questions. "The new syllabus has a lot of writing to do. The rapid reading section specially has undergone a great change," said Renu Bakshi, English teacher at K J Somaiya College, Vidyavihar.
Meanwhile, junior college teachers continued to stand firm on their boycott call, raising fears over delay in the results. They have refused to meet board officials. However, board chairperson Gangadhar Mamane said the state working towards ending the impasse. He said, "So we are expecting that the result will not be delayed."
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