Body asks principals to be exempt from custodian duty

The Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals Association (MSSHSSPA) has asked the state board to relieve principals of the duty of custodians during the SSC and HSC exams as it interferes with their regular duties. The principals have also suggested that the board should not schedule exams on Maharashtra Bhasha Diwas as the schools that double up as exam centers are unable to celebrate and observe the day due to the exams.

Speaking about the issues, Prashant Redij, Mumbai convenor of the MSSHSSPA, said that the duty of the custodian was a sensitive one as question papers were disbursed to exam centers through the custodian as well as answer papers were collected and dispatched to the board by the incumbent. “The school or junior college principal who is appointed as custodian has to juggle duties of custodian as well as principal which can get very stressful at times. With all these responsibilities in the event of a paper leak or any problem pertaining to the exams, the principal becomes the scapegoat. Hence we have asked the board to appoint an official from the education department or the civic corporation to serve as the custodian,” said Mr Redij.

He further added that in the meeting with board officials, MSSHSSPA had asked the board not to schedule exams on Marathi Bhasha Din as celebrating it has been made mandatory by the state government. “We met the Mumbai divisional board chairman Mr Dattary Jagtap and petitioned him to ensure that exams were not scheduled on the day. Mr Jagtap was very positive in this regard and said that it would be forwarded to the head office at Pune,” said Mr Redij.

“The principals had a valid point with regards to Marathi Bhasha Din. We have forwarded their request to the Pune head office and will also discuss the same after the exams are over in the board meeting,” said Mr Jagtap.

Mr Redij also added that they had also asked the board to look into the issue of the salaries of the teachers following the death of a teacher at Jalna due to a heart attack while doing examination duty. “Teachers belonging to unaided schools are under tremendous pressure as they have not received salaries as yet. We have asked the board officials to look into the issue,” he said.