For the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination scheduled to begin on Friday, the Mumbai division which consists of Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad has seen a 5% jump in the registration of candidates. This year, 3.99 lakh students will appear for the exam as against 3.8 lakh students last year.
The spike is a result of an increase in the number of fresh candidates who have registered for the exam this time. While only 3.39 lakh fresh candidates appeared last year, over 3.83 lakh students registered this year. On the other hand, the number of students repeating the exam has seen a dip. Last year, 43,855 candidates registered for the exam while this time only 16,307 students have opted for the exam.
Board officials said while the increase in fresh candidates is a common occurrence, the dip in number of repeater candidates is due to a change in syllabus. “It is a trend we see every time the syllabus changes. A lot of the students might have appeared in the July reexam and not waited for this round of test. This is because coaching classes provide tutoring for the new syllabus and it becomes difficult for the repeater candidates to prepare for the old syllabus,” said Krishnakumar Patil, chairperson of the board’s Mumbai division.
This year, the SSC syllabus was revamped and the board also did away with internal examinations. Paper patterns have changed too and this is worrying teachers and students.
The examination starts on Friday with the first language paper, except English.
