Thousands of students of Class 10 and 12 in Haryana are facing harassment in filing their examination forms online, which have been declared as mandatory by the education department of the State for final exams.
Students said that there is hardly any internet facility in the Government schools of the State, especially in the rural belt. The students have to go to cyber cafes to get the forms filled online and they are being charged exorbitantly as Rs 100 to Rs 200 per form. lakhs of students appear for class 10 and 12 every year in the State and due to online forms, they are facing practical problems. A student said that though the State education department has declared that it will not charge examination fee from students of SC or BC categories, but as these forms are accepted only online, these underprivileged students also have to pay the full fee at Rs 500 for Class 10 and Rs 690 for class 12.
There are around 15 lakh students getting study between these classes 1st to 8th. The current session started in April and these students are studying without books till date. Even some students did not get their stipends or bags as mentioned in the State education department’s policy. Education Minister Geeta Bhukkal said that the online system has been introduced recently, and at the beginning it may create little confusion but everything will be sorted out. On the examination fee being charged from SC and BC students through online application, she said it would be refunded to the students. Regarding non availability of books, Bhukkal said that action will be taken against the concerned publisher soon and the books will be provided to the students at the earliest.