Maharashtra HSC students allege that the Physics paper was tough

The Maharashtra State Board helpline had the phones ringing constantly with students calling in to complain that the HSC Physics examination paper was difficult and that they had a tough time completing it.

About 78,145 students were anticipated to appear for the Physics examination being organised by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education. Majority of the students complained that the 1st section was particularly tough and some were disappointed with how lengthy the paper was.

Kedar Sathaye, a student of Dhyanganga College, Thane said, "Since the time I heard that the physics paper was tough last year, I was worried about it would be difficult this year too and that is exactly what happened." The previous year too, saw a similar situation, with the students being unhappy about the Physics paper and consequently, they had demanded a re-examination.

The Board got over 60 calls within a couple of hours after the examination which was conducted at 2pm, on Tuesday.

A counselor on the helpline said, "Students asked about the minimum marks required to pass and the grace marks that they could avail of. We have advised them to concentrate on studying for the papers that are ahead."

This is the 1st batch of students taking the exam on the new curriculum. There were no out-of- syllabus questions, the students said. But, part one (General Physics) was difficult comparied to part two (Modern Physics) "Generally it is the other way round, but part two had many numerical questions and hence could be completed quicker."

On the other hand, the teachers' statements were contradictory to what the students had to say. A Physics teacher from Sathaye College, Vile Parle said, "The paper did not have any problems. In fact, it was much easier than the paper last year. Everything was from the text. The students who are complaining may not have prepared well."

Satisfied with their papers were students belonging to the Commerce stream, who took the Secretarial Practice exam and those belonging to the Arts stream who took the Political Science exam.

Sanika Palsikar, a student of Ruia College, Matunga said, "The political science paper was extremely simple, but some did find it a little lengthy."

1,18,077 students appeared for the Secretarial Practice exam and over 32,000 students appeared for the Political Science exam.

Around 99 cases of cheating were lodged across Maharashtra on Tuesday, out of which, only 9 of them were from the Mumbai division. Laxmikant Pandey, Chairperson of the board's Mumbai division said, "In the Mumbai division, seven cases were in Bhiwandi region and two were in Vile Parle."

Meanwhile, the teachers of Junior college continued their boycott of assessment work, stating that the work would be resumed only after a resolution to fulfill their demands was made by the Government. Accordingly, a scheduled meeting of Chief Moderators for the Physics, Political Science and Secretarial Practice examinations could not be conducted.

Anil Deshmukh, Secretary, Maharashtra State Federation of Junior College Teachers' Organisation said, "We have maintained that we will call off the boycott only after the government resolution (GR) is issued." Gangadhar Mhamane, Chairman of the State Board said that the Education Minister of the school has assured them that the GR would be furnished in a couple of days.

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