Students who play sports can appear for board exams despite poor attendance

Only students participating in events organised by the central government, state government, government-approved organisations and the School Games Federation of India will be able to enjoy this subsidy

Along with giving athletes additional sports marks, Maharashtra has introduced special concessions in attendance for them too.

Students of Classes 9 to 12 who play in national and state-level tournaments will now be allowed to appear for exams even if their attendance is less than 60%. (HT File Photo)

Students of Classes 9 to 12 who play in national and state-level tournaments will now be allowed to appear for exams even if their attendance is less than 60%. As of now, students need a minimum of 75% attendance to sit for an exam.

The Maharashtra school education department issued a government resolution (GR) on Wednesday introducing the attendance subsidy. This will be applicable to schools across all boards such as SSC, ICSE, CBSE and international boards.

“Students participating in sports lose out on attendance on account of tournaments and practice. So there has been a noticeable drop in the number of students taking up sports,” read the GR. “This adversely affects the growth of the student and sports culture in the state.”

Only students participating in events organised by the central government, state government, government-approved organisations and the School Games Federation of India will be able to enjoy this subsidy.

Students whose attendance below 60% need special permission from education officials. It will be the school principal’s responsibility to get the required permissions from the district education officer (secondary) to allow that student to appear for the exam.

In June last year, Maharashtra reintroduced the sports quota scheme for students appearing through the state board. Students can get 15 to 25 marks depending on the level of participation.