Bombay HC asks Maha state board to release disbarred teen's Class 12 marksheet

While observing that it did not see rationale why students who did not opt for Science subject in Class 10 cannot be admitted to the stream later the Bombay High Court has asked the MSBSHSE to release the Class 12 marksheet of a 17yearold boy it had disbarredThe Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education MSBSHSE had cancelled the boys admission to Classes 11 and 12 after he appeared for the HSC examination claiming that he was ineligible to be admitted to the Science stream as he had not opted for the subject in Class 10 PTI reportedA division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale in its order of June 7 said it sees no rationale why Class 10 students who dont opt for Science subject should not be admitted to the stream laterThe order was passed in the petition filed by Krish Chordiya challenging the state boards decision cancelling his admission and refusing to release his Class 12 marksheetldquoThe choice of subjects at SSC and ICSE schools is not made in Class 10 but at least a year or two earlier around Classes 8 or 9 It is surely unreasonable to expect that the decision of a 14yearold will be determinative of his or her entire futurerdquo the court saidIt further said that as per the National Education Policy NEP the entire pattern is proposed to be changedldquoThe old trifecta of ScienceArtsCommerce is to be done away with and rightly so The emphasis is now on identifying and nurturing potential and providing flexible learning optionsrdquo the court saidIf this was the policy trend then the court was unable to see how the inflexibility and tardiness of the Maharashtra State Boards approach fulfils any objective at all it addedAlso readMumbai Lake levels in seven reservoirs that supply water to city at 1063 per centldquoWe are compelled to ask what the purpose of the 4th respondent State Board is to assist students and provide and encourage education opportunities or to discover new ways to stymie themrdquo the court saidNoting that if interim relief is granted to the petitioner no prejudice would be caused to the board the court directed for his Class 12 marksheet to be released pending final hearing and disposal of the petitionThe bench observed that Chordiya was caught between the Scylla of an utterly doctrinaire approach of the state board and the Charybdis of an alleged lapse on the part of the Gargi Junior College NashikldquoThe result is that the young petitioners entire educational career and future is in jeopardyrdquo the court saidAccording to the petition Chordiya appeared for Class 10 standard exams in the ICSE board in 202021 after which he took admission to the Science stream at Gargi Junior CollegeIn 2023 the petitioner appeared for the Class 12 board examination However in March he received a letter from the college stating that his admission to Classes 11 and 12 were cancelled by the board as he had not opted for Science subject in Class 10Chordiya in his plea said he was not given a copy of the Boards orderIn the meantime Chordiya appeared for the joint entrance exam of the Vellore Institute of Technology and based on that score he was given a provisional admission letterWhen the HSC results were declared in May Chordiyas marksheet was not uploaded and he was shown as disbarredThe bench in its order noted that the state board and the college ought to have coordinated to ensure that Chordiya was informed that he was ineligible for whatever reason before being given admissionThe court noted that Chordiya has completed Classes 11 and 12 has performed well above average in both and has appeared for highly competitive entrance examinationsldquoWhat he is now being told is that he is incapable of studying Science because he did not do Science three years ago in Class 10rdquo the court saidPTI