Maharashtra State Board Fails to Implement Fee Waiver for Flood-Affected Students

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Even though the govt resolution (GR) dated Oct 10 assured fee waiver for SSC and HSC students from flood-affected areas of Marathwada and other parts of the state, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) has allegedly failed to take necessary action.No official communication by the state board in light of the aforementioned GR has left thousands of students deprived of financial relief.Around Rs520 and Rs660 are charged by the state board towards examination fees for SSC and HSC respectively. Around 30 lakh students appear for the boards every year, with a considerable number of them believed to be eligible for the waiver in exam fees.Educational activist Prashant Sathe said the alleged inordinate delay by the MSBSHSE in offering fee waiver shows high insensitivity."Even two weeks after the Oct 10 GR, the state board failed to ratify the govt resolve to offer a fee waiver. It is like rubbing salt in the wounds of a rain-hit population," he said.As per official data, around 15.7 lakh SSC students and another 12.7 lakh HSC students filed their applications for the board examinations through their respective schools and junior colleges. When contacted, MSBSHSE chairman Sharad Gosavi said fresh instructions were expected from the school education department to offer the fee waiver in question."Even though the revenue department issued a GR, the school education department needs to issue a separate GR. No doubt SSC and HSC students will get a fee waiver, but we are waiting for formal instructions," he tol TOI.Another educational activist, Tukaram Saraf, said reimbursement process concerned must be carried out smoothly as and when announced. "The fee waiver offered in Marathwada during the drought of 2016 failed to reach each and every beneficiary student due to technical issues associated with bank accounts. Taking lessons from past mistakes, authorities must take corrective measures now," he said.