Original Text of Students’ letter to BOSE
Demand deferment in Exams, say No Relaxation in Syllabus came as a ‘Shock’
Respected Sir
To begin with, we are really very grateful to you for being considerate of our problem of appearing in Board exams for the full syllabus scheduled to be held from 14thNovember 2016. This happens to be the first attempt of the authorities in lending an ear to our problem, and has come as a major relief for us.
We came across your statement mentioning that ‘students have not so far made any representation before the BOSE authorities’, hence we want to inform you about our grievances and demands through this letter.
As you are aware of the fact that since 1stJuly, schools are closed in the valley and since Eid ul Fitr, tuitions have also stopped functioning. The announcement of datesheet and no relaxation in syllabus came as a shock to us.
The fact that 90 people have been killed in the ongoing unrest which erupted after Burhan Wani’s killing and children of our age have been blinded and maimed has taken a toll on our mental health; it has disturbed us deeply but at the same time we are aware of the fact that education is important for us, however, conducting exams should not be given a political light and should not be projected as a means of restoring normalcy.
We have had only 83 working days of school and have thus completed less than 50% of our syllabus. In 2010, the session had started in November & schools were reopened in September after the turmoil, even then class 12 was given concession of 50% in their syllabus. However, in our situation, our session started in March neither schools have reopened at this juncture, nor our tuitions, and the restoration of peace in the valley isn’t very probable in the near future either.
Also, besides JKCET, JEE and NEET, there are other entrance examinations that are much coveted. For students aspiring to go to universities like the Delhi University or Jamia Milia, there is a requirement of atleast 85% marks for eligibility while JEE-like exams demand 75%. Thus, we cannot afford to score less in the Board exams, which would be the case if we are forced to appear in them for the full syllabus in November, as ordered.
Also, according to us, March session wouldn’t be beneficial for us. It is so in view of the fact that we will have to prepare simultaneously for Board exams as well as entrance exams during winters; which we had never fathomed, and thus are not prepared for and therefore it would affect our performance in entrance exams. In addition to that, we will lose crucial time for our entrance which will be held less than a month after boards, if boards are held in March. It was a necessity in 2014 after the floods and due to it many students had to drop a year as they couldn’t qualify entrance examinations.
In view of the above mentioned facts, our earnest request to you is that syllabus be reduced by 50% as this would be in the greater interest of all the students.
We thus request you to please consider our request and without any further delay announce a verdict on our exams as this delay is putting us under tremendous stress and is taking a toll on our health. (KNS)