Maharashtra students taken on a roller-coaster ride

Students’ suicides shook the state as 2010 started. The extreme step taken by some students, who were to appear for the state board examinations, sent strong signals to the authorities on changing the examination system.

As the state did not have a full-time education minister, a concrete decision could not be made on the issue.

Later, education minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil took the initiative of introducing the ‘Best of Five’ formula, which failed to withstand legal scrutiny in the high court (HC). Other school boards, including the ICSE and CBSE, have been applying the ‘Best of Five’ option for a long time now.

However, the state advocates made a weak case for it and the government had to face an embarrassing situation in court.

Fee hikes and parents’ protests throughout the year disturbed the school education system. The government kept on issuing new government resolutions (GRs), often contradictory.

However, when the parents moved the HC in June against the GRs, the court put a stay on them, embarrassing the government further.

People from all walks of life demanded a regulatory body for school fees, especially those in the unaided sector. The Kumud Bansal committee, which was appointed to bring about uniformity in school fees, proved ineffective in providing any relief to the parents.

Parents from Mumbai and Pune agitated against the hike in school fees. In fact, Rosary School students’ parents went on a hunger strike in Pune, but to no avail. Despite the deputy school education director having powers to interfere in the matter, the HC’s June 22 order put a stay on any move in this regard, making his efforts futile.

The year ended on a positive note, however, with a full-time education minister, Rajendra Darda, announcing a Bill in the winter session of the state legislative assembly to regulate school fees.

Another positive development was the implementation of Right of the Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, from April 1, 2010.

The Act not only makes education compulsory for children, but boosts the morale of activists working in the field due to its potential to curb child labour.

The silver lining to the dark cloud was the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Examination joining hands with the National Council for Educational Research and Training, which is trying to bring uniformity in mathematics and science syllabii across the country.

The state board also created a School Curriculum Framework, on the lines of the National Curriculum Framework, to make its students more competitive.

This year, the state board declared the standard XII results for the first time in the last week of May, instead of the second week of June; and standard X results two weeks earlier in the second week of June. The early declaration was made possible due to the online system.