State postpones scholarship exam

The scholarship exam for Std VII conducted by the Maharashtra State Council of Examinations has been postponed to avoid a clash with the economics and biology exams of the Higher Secondary Examination (HSC), which are going to be held on the same day. The state has decided to postpone the scholarship exam by almost a week to March 24 from March 17.

Both the exams were clashing on Sunday, March 17, after the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBHSE) recently rescheduled the Std XII papers. Following the teachers’ complaints that it would be chaotic to hold both the exams on the same day, the state government on Tuesday rescheduled the scholarship exam.

Sarjerao Jadhav, chairman of the state board, said, “We have decided to postpone the scholarship exam for administrative reasons as it was clashing with the HSC exam.”

Nearly 17 lakh Std VII students will be appearing for this state level scholarship exam, while nearly 3 lakh will be appearing for their HSC board exams. Teachers were worried because the scholarship exam lasts for nearly five to six hours as there is a one hour gap after every paper. The teachers had approached MLA from teachers constituency Ramnath Mote.

“Some schools were assigned as HSC and scholarship exam centres both. Teachers were tensed as this would have meant a larger number of students appearing at the centre at the same time. The state’s decision has brought us relief. We will now be able to conduct both exams smoothly,” said Anil Bornare, president of Maharashtra Rajya Shikshak Parishad, Mumbai division.