Mumbai: The state govt’s decision to conduct Class 4 and 7 scholarship examinations on April 26 has raised concerns among parents and educationists. They pointed out that the date clashes directly with end-of-year semester examinations, result processing and other administrative work in schools. They warned that the overlap will create a dual academic burden for students and add to the workload of teachers, leaving little structured time for focused preparation. “The decision should be reconsidered,” said Madhav Suryavanshi, chief coordinator, Shikshan Vikas Manch, a consortium of educators, urging the state govt to push the scholarship examinations to July. This year, govt has also gone back to the old pattern of holding the exams in Classes 7 and 7, instead of Classes 5 and 8. —Mahiyar Patel
