Maharashtra Board Prepares to Hold SSC, HSC Exams Through Offline Mode, Confirms State Education Min

Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) officials have said that they are working towards conducting the usual offline board exams, which are scheduled to be held in the month of April. However, several students and their parents have demanded for online board exams or school-level assessments for Class 10 and Class 12 this year in view of rising cases of Covid-19 in the state.

According to the officials, the decision of offline format exam was considered after seeing the large volume of students, who will be appearing for HSC and SSC board exams, which will start on April 23 and 29, respectively. More than 30 lakh students will sit for their MSBSHSE Class 10 and MSBSHSE Class 12 board exams across the state this year.

According to Times of India, State Minister for School Education, Varsha Gaikwad said that conducting board exam through online mode at a same time across Maharashtra is difficult, hence, the board is preparing for usual offline mode. Gaikwad also said it will not be possible to hold exams through online mode before the month of September and this will also delay to start a new academic session.

Meanwhile, Chairperson of MSBSHSE, Dinkar Patil said, the board has started preparation for the offline exams with keeping students’ safety in mind. “A lot of our students are in rural parts of the state, making it nearly impossible for us to conduct an online exam. We are still two months away and hope the situation around Covid-19 will improve. Meanwhile, we have started preparation for the offline examinations and will take measures to ensure that students’ safety is our top priority,” TOI quoted him as saying.

Patil also appealed all students and their parents not to believe in any rumours and wait for instructions from their school or the state board. “There are a lot of rumours about the format of the exams but students must focus on studying right now. Closer to the exam dates, we will review the Covid-19 situation and make appropriate changes to the format and issue guidelines,” he added.

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