Students of classes 1 to 8 will be promoted without exams: Edu min

As schools in several parts of Maharashtra remain shut due to Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown, the state education department has decided to promote all students between Classes 1 and 8 to the next classes, based on a monitoring process

As schools in several parts of Maharashtra remain shut due to Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown, the state education department has decided to promote all students between Classes 1 and 8 to the next classes, based on a monitoring process.

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State education minister Varsha Gaikwad made the announcement on Saturday afternoon. “All state board students across Maharashtra state from Class 1st to Class 8th will be promoted to the next class without any examinations. A decision regarding students of class 9th and 11th will soon be taken,” stated a tweet by Gaikwad.

“We could not open schools for Classes 1 to 4. Even schools for the higher grade could not open. Hence it has been decided to promote students this year,” she added. The department shall soon release a manual on promoting students to the next grade, as per which schools have to assess their performance.

Principals welcomed the move. “We have made several representations in this regard and are happy that they have been accepted. Students should not be subjected to stress during the current situation,” said Prashant Redij, spokesperson of the Mumbai Principal’s Association. As per the RTE Act, students between Classes 1 and 8 are promoted on the basis of their continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) monitored throughout the year.

The state education department allowed schools in the state to reopen for Classes 9 to 12 from November 23, 2020 and for Classes 5 to 8 from January 27, 2021. The final decision of reopening schools rested with the local authorities and schools in Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai did not open. However, with the rising number of Covid-19 infections, even those in various parts of the state that had opened had to close down.

Gaikwad said that even as schools remain shut, students are getting access to learning through TV, radio mobile phones and through various online channels of the education department.