E-Paper
Board exams | Centre at old school, migrated students fear harassment in Ludhiana
The education department’s decision to mark former school exam centre has unsettled migrated students amid the ongoing tussle over non-issuance of transfer certificates and pending dues.
The fiscal repercussions of the Covid-induced lockdown had forced several parents to withdraw their wards from private schools and enrol them in government schools . However, many migrated students will now have to suffer ignominy of taking their first-term board exams at their former schools, the authorities of which are still loath to issue transfer certificates to these students, citing non clearance of dues.
In marking an external exam centre to migrated students, the education department has acted against orders of Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) chairperson Yograj Sharma, who had issued an order last month saying that students enrolled in board classes of government, government-aided and PSEB-affiliated private schools in the state would now take final exams in their own schools.
The PSEB order had read, “Students of Classes 8, 10 and 12 will have their board centres in their own respective schools like the students of Class 5.”
The parents of migrated students, whose centres have been marked at their old schools, have approached the school authorities, seeking change of exam centre. A government senior secondary school teacher said, “Parents are worried that their children might face harassment at the exam centres, which have been marked as their previous schools, amid the ongoing tussle over non-issuance of transfer certificates and pending dues.”
Around 200 students, who had migrated to government schools, have been denied transfer documents by their previous schools. Many students have moved court over the matter so much so that the district education department has formed a special committee to deal with such complaints.
The students, who were unable to furnish a transfer certificate, were admitted to government schools after an order was released by the former education secretary (schools) on August 7, 2020, saying that in case a private school refuses to issue a transfer certificate to a student, heads of the government schools can admit the pupil after self-verification.
Later, another order was issued directing government schools to admit students only after receiving all documents from them, including the transfer certificate, leaving students admitted on the basis of the previous order in a lurch.
The PSEB chairperson said that most schools are self-centres, but schools with less enrolment cannot be centres. “Since the exams for Classes 10 and 12 are to start from December 13, it is too late to change the centres. However, students of Class 8 can contact us and get their centres changed.”
