26 students with tainted record to appear for HSC exam

Mumbai: After a cash-for-admission racket rocked the KJ Somaiya College of Arts and Commerce in December last year, the college conducted an internal inquiry which found that 26 students who enrolled in class 11 in 2023-24 had forged their documents to secure admission, sources told Hindustan Times. All 26 students subsequently withdrew their admission and are appearing for the class 12 exams starting Tuesday as private candidates.

The college, however, denied that the students were found guilty of forging documents and claimed they had withdrawn their admission voluntarily.

The cash-for-admission racket came to light in December 2024 after the principal, Dr Kishan Pawar, alleged in a police complaint that some students had paid intermediaries to increase their marks and gain admission to the college using fake certificates.

While police arrested three persons in connection with the racket, an internal inquiry by the college found that around 50 students of the 2024-25 batch had secured admission using forged documents. This was reported in HT on XXX.

Sources told HT that the same inquiry found 26 students of the 2023-24 batch guilty of securing admission. Parents of all 26 students subsequently withdrew the admissions and requested the college to allow them to appear for the class 12 exam as private candidates, the sources added.

Dr Kishan Pawar denied anything was amiss with the withdrawals, saying, “Twenty-six students from the 2024-25 class 12 batch withdrew their admissions from the college. The decisions were made voluntarily by the students and their families.”

The college has allowed all 26 students to appear for the class 12 exam as private candidates following due procedure, he said.

As per regulations of the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, students who pass the Class 10 exam can appear for the class 12 exam after a one-year gap by submitting form 17.

Rajendra Ahire, chairman of the Mumbai Division of the state board, emphasised on the need to ensure that students do not suffer academic loss. “Parents approached the board for consultation. Considering the academic future of the students, we decided to allow them to appear for the class 12 exams as private candidates,” he said.