Over two lakh students opt out of SSC admissions

In this file photo taken in January 2021, a group of Class X students are seen taking a selfie after submitting their SSC exam forms at Samta Vidya Mandir school in Kandivli. Pic/Satej Shinde

It is no surprise that the Coronavirus pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide. The arrival of the second wave was swift. Now experts expect the second, deadlier wave to decline by July. And yet, it feels like the scare continues to grip students in Maharashtra.

In what feels like a new cause for concern, over two lakh students are feared to have been forced out of the education system. While a total of 18 lakh students passed Class IX, only 16,57,000 students have registered for SSC admissions. The figures indicate huge dropping out of students amidst the pandemic. Systematic Corrections Movement (SYSCOM) - an organisation working to resolve issues in the education sector - has highlighted the issue and even written to the state government.

To be precise, 19,34,094 students were enrolled in Class IX of Maharashtra State Board last year. Out of these, 18,31,344 passed the final exams. Ideally, all of those who passed should have had enrolled in SSC. But as per the candidate registration details for SSC, only 16,57,000 candidates have registered. On deeper investigation, it has come to light that out of the total registration for SSC, roughly around 56,000 have registered as repeaters. This leaves a gap of 2,30,344 students who have passed Class IX, but never registered for SSC.

This huge number of missing students, according to SYSCOM, is a cause for concern. The NGO has, however, partly blamed schools for the drop in numbers. "Over 24,000 Class IX students have been failed and made to repeat the year, despite the government warning against it due to the pandemic situation, they said. [The state doesn't have a record for the remaining 78,000 students on its server right now]. But an important question to ask here is that if now we are saying that so many students are missing from the SSC registration even as they passed Class IX, is it really the pandemic effect?" states the letter by SYSCOM, which is sent to the Commissioner of Education Vishal Solanki.

"The students and teachers ratio has to be maintained to continue running schools - which is 35 students per class. Since there is no failure policy until Class VIII under the Right To Education (RTE), schools could have taken advantage of the situation to maintain this ratio. While it has to be investigated whether the dropout rate is only a pandemic effect or other factors are in play, it is also important for the government to trace these missing students at whichever stage they may have dropped out of schools," said Vaishali Bafna, SYSCOM.

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56K
Number of students registered as repeaters for SSC admission