Maharashtra: Return SSC exam fees, say teachers and parents

After the state education department cancelled the Class 10 (SSC) exams this year, teachers and parents are demanding that the state board returns exam fees of over 17 lakh students who were set to write exams

After the state education department cancelled the Class 10 (SSC) exams this year, teachers and parents are demanding that the state board returns exam fees of over 17 lakh students who were set to write exams.

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Every year, the board charges ₹415 from regular students as exam fees against costs incurred in conducting and supervising exams and assessing answer sheets. “This year, the board will not incur charges such as stationery costs for printing papers, supervision allowances to teachers and paper assessment charges to examiners and moderators. Thus, these fees need to be returned,” said Rajesh Pandya, vice president of the Teachers Democratic Front.

With nearly 17 lakh students appearing for the SSC exams every year, the board collects nearly ₹70 crore in exam fees. Dinkar Patil, chairman of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education said a decision is still awaited. He however added that “the board has already incurred most of the expenditure, barring the expenses concerning paper checking.”

On April 20, Class 10 exams were declared cancelled by the state government due to the rising Covid-19 cases and the resultant lockdown. Students will be marked based on internal assessments and the education department is still devising a formula for the evaluation of these students.