ABVP activists stage protest,held

The ABVP members took out a march to the fifth-floor office,where they shouted slogans for about 20 minutes before being led away by the police. “We gave our demand letter to the Minister’s PA,asking them to commence admissions to junior colleges. We have been repeatedly urging the government not to go ahead with the best-5 policy as it would not stand ground. Parents and students are suffering,” ABVP state president Devdutt Joshi said.

The ABVP had earlier written to the government,voicing its protest over the policy. “The decision to challenge the HC order in the Supreme Court will only delay the admission process. It’s not needed. Let the government go ahead with the existing system and pursue the legal matter later.”

Joshi said their demand for a full-time minister for school education had been pending for long. Thorat holds additional charge of the department.

The Parishad will gather parents in the coming days and meet district collectors to put pressure on the government to begin class XI admissions instead of waiting till July 10.

Meanwhile,Minister of State for School Education Fauzia Khan said in Pune that the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education has started the process of changing the SSC marksheets and preparing the results with all six subjects.

“Though the government has decided to challenge the High Court order in the Supreme Court,the board has started reworking the SSC marksheets that were prepared as per the best-5 formula.”

Khan did not commit any timeframe for the process,though.

Incidentally,in her speech she admitted to lapses in the formula and the judicial proceedings. “The government has been trying to bring all students at par for class XI admissions. The best-5 formula was a part of these efforts. However,some lacunae was left while preparing it. There were technical problems during judicial proceedings also.”