Maharashtra board mandates 75 per cent attendance for SSC exam

PUNE: A minimum of 75% attendance in two terms of Standard X will be necessary for students to appear for the secondary school certificate (SSC, Std X) examination, this year.
The schools have been told to submit the attendance of students by February5, and according to the rules laid down by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, the students have to complete 75% attendance between June and October 15 and 75% in the second term from mid-October to February 5.
Secretary of the Pune division of the state board, B K Dahiphale, said, "Schools must send the attendance of students by February 15, with the defaulters' list with a remark as 'no candidate' against their names. If the candidate falls short of the required attendance in any one term, he /she will not be able to appear for the exam."
The notification said, school heads have been delaying the submitting of the attendance list and some of it was incomplete. In such a situation, it was difficult for the board to take any decision against defaulters.
Hence, this year, a deadline of February 5, has been given to all schools to submit the attendance of the students who have filled the exam forms.
In the notification, Dahiphale said, "There are some students who deserve to be exempted due to poor attendance as they were undergoing some medical issues. However, if the proposals to exempt the students come late, it is not possible to exempt them even if they deserve it. Hence, we have strictly maintained that the division must receive details by February 5."
For exceptional or emergency cases, the proposals will be considered after required proof if received after February 5, with a fine of Rs 500 after every late proposal.
Also, students whose attendance is less than 75% but more than 60% who have faced some medical emergency will also be exempted from the rule and allowed to sit for the exam after providing valid proof.