Four students of an Upper Shillong school will miss out on this year’s Class 10 board exams after the principal allegedly failed to submit their forms to the Meghalaya Board of School Education (MBOSE).
The Class 10 exams are to begin on April 19. The school in question is the Sawmer Presbyterian Secondary School.
The students’ parents today met with MBOSE authorities to try and convince them to allow their children to sit the exams but came away disappointed. MBOSE pleaded that there was nothing it could do as all pre-exam formalities have been completed.
According to the Joint Director, M Marbaniang, MBOSE had already extended the date for the submission of forms for students wishing to sit the exams on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We came to know about this particular case only on April 13 when we had already finished with our pre-exam work,” Marbaniang said. “The hall tickets have already been issued to all candidates and it will be difficult for us to accept their forms at this juncture.”
He blamed the school principal for the debacle saying that it is the responsibility of the heads of institutions to submit the forms.
MBOSE will now issue a show-cause notice to the principal. “Action will be taken after he has replied to our show-cause notice,” the Joint Director said.
Taking responsibility, the school authorities have decided to refund the students’ fees but that will be scant comfort for the children and their families for a wasted academic year and the stress and emotional trauma of the last few days.