Students failing in Class 9 can appear for re-exams in June

MUMBAI: All schools in Maharashtra must hold re-exams in June for students failing in Class 9, beginning next academic year 2017-18.

MUMBAI: All schools in Maharashtra must hold re-exams in June for students failing in Class 9, beginning next academic year 2017-18.

HT Image

The government has made it mandatory for state, non-state and even international schools in the state to conduct these exams, which are along the lines of the supplementary exams held for SSC and HSC students. Those passing the re-exams will be promoted to Class 10, thus helping students save a year.

The education department also plans to hold baseline tests for Class 9 and Class 10 students in the coming months, to assess their skills in maths and English.

The measures are part of a new initiative to improve the quality of secondary education and lower the drop-out rate in Classes 9 and 10. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has identified it as a key result area, to be accomplished in the next two years.

According to the Unified District Information System of Education (U-DISE) report, 2.45 lakh students failed in Class 9 in 2014-15 and 2.59 lakh in 2013-14. This resulted in 1.44 lakh students not appearing for the Class 10 exams. And among those who did, 1.38 lakh did not pass.

“If all these students had passed at the right time, then we could have stopped them from dropping out at a later stage. Although students appear for board exams privately if they don’t pass Class 9, those numbers are low,” said Nand Kumar, principal secretary, school education department.

While the re-exams will give students failing the final exam another chance to clear the subjects in which they fared poorly, the baseline tests will identify weak students, said Kumar.

Most schools welcomed the initiative, but non-state board schools said it was not a practical move.

“Our academic session begins in March, so how can we hold re-exams in June? And there is no guarantee that the child performing poorly all these years will pass even in the re-exams,” said Chandrakanta Pathak, principal, HVB Global Academy, Marine Lines.

Schools said the support systems will need to be created to prepare students for the reexams.

“Schools should be told to provide intensive training to the weak students in April and May, so that they will improve performance in re-exams,” said Father Francis Swamy, principal, St Mary’s School (ICSE), Mazgaon; and joint-secretary of the Archdiocesan Board of Education that runs 150-odd schools.