When the state board decided to play Santa to a student from the tribal taluka of Talasari in Thane division by allowing him to sit his examination even though he did not have a hall ticket, little would it have imagined that it would instead get brickbats for its empathy. Experts complained that such a provision can give ‘dummy candidates’ a free run.

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The state board went out on a limb on Thursday to help a student who claimed that he did not receive his hall ticket despite filling the SSC examination registration form at his school.

RR Bhise, divisional secretary of the Mumbai division of the state board, said, “We felt that the student’s case was genuine. We allowed him to sit the examination. He was a poor child and we did not want his year to go to waste.” In the same breath, Bhise clarified that the exceptional provision was made with utmost caution. “We made the student sign an undertaking and took a certification from his school. The undertaking says if in future it is proven that this student is not genuine, then he will not be given his results,” said Bhise.

Basanti Roy, former secretary of the divisional board, lauded the board’s decision. But, other experts warned that such a move can encourage malpractices.