Pre-board result pits student against private school in Bhopal

A private school in Bhopal’s Kolar area is facing parents’ ire for not allowing an aspiring Class 11 student to attend class allegedly citing ‘low marks’ in the Class-10 pre-board examination.

The school has also recently told eight Class 8 students that they would be issued transfer certificate because of ‘poor performance’. The school management, however, claimed that the parents had not approached them over the issues.

The matter assumes significance in view of the rising number of students committing suicide this year over academic stress. Over 30 students chose to end their life due to the fear of their failure in examinations this year across Madhya Pradesh.

Sanjeev Gupta, father of Class 11 student Anirudhh, said the administration of the Vindhyachal Academy, a CBSE-affiliated school, did not allow his son to attend the classes for commerce stream citing low marks in the pre-board examination.

The CBSE is likely to declare its Class 10 results in May.

“I was told that my child cannot sit in the class because he got less marks in the pre-boards, whereas the final result, that is, the board result, will decide if my child has got less marks or more…It is very irrational on the school’s part to do this after a child has studied in the school for 10 years,” he said.

According to a Supreme Court’s 2015 order “students who study up to Class 10 in any school, whether aided or non-aided, are entitled to get admission in Class 11 in the same school unless he or she declines before the admission is closed. However, in which stream they are to be admitted, depends upon their merits and performance which shall be decided by the school authority.”

The school is also facing ire after it told eight Class 8 students to take transfer certificate after they got a supplementary in their final examination.

Parents have alleged that the school administration told students that they did not deserve to sit in the school. “The school conducted an improvement examination and told parents that they (the students) failed in the improvement test also. This is unbelievable as 25% marks are required to pass the examination,” said Dharmendra Saxena, a parent.

Saxena contended that even if all the eight students secured less than 25% marks in the improvement examination, according to the CBSE norms, a second test should be conducted.

Vindyachal Academy management, however, has denied all the allegations and said that the parents did not approach them to resolve the issues. “We are ready to consider the supplementary cases. As far as the admission of the Class 11 student, we didn’t have a problem in giving him commerce stream, though his parents demanded science, which could not be given because he secured less marks,” said the academy manager Uday Kumar.