Borivali school yields to parents’ demands, to begin SSC Board admissions from March

The Swami Vivekananda International School (SVIS) in Gorai, which landed in a soup for having discontinued Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board admissions and switched to Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) curriculum, has confirmed that they will begin admissions for the former board from this year.

‘The admissions for the SSC board from Standard I will begin from this academic year. Admission forms will be available from March 10. ICSE Board will not, in any way, affect the SSC Board and will continue to remain economical for all the students,’ read an official letter issued by SVIS authorities.

FPJ had, on January 3, reported about Maharashtra Housing Area and Development Authority (MHADA) slapping a notice on the school for discontinuing SSC admissions. The school plot is owned by MHADA.

The notice was sent to the school after it allegedly flouted rules and norms of operations. The body had given the accommodation to the school on the condition it had Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) curriculum.

Parents had written letters and led signature campaigns for months. “It is a collective win for us. For months we were running from pillar to post

for justice, and it has finally been served,” said Ratnakar Sawant, a Gorai resident whose son studies in SVIS, adding, “We are thankful to everyone who helped us in saving our kids from repeating a year or seeking out a new school.”

Residents and parents had claimed that the school was planning to discontinue the SSC Board in a phased manner. As a last ditch attempt, they had started a signature campaign last month against the school authorities, garnering over 2,000 signatures.

“The school authorities were in for a shock that parents would come out with such aggression. They also might have felt additional pressure of MHADA’s notice asides from our signature campaign and had to ultimately succumb to our demands for good,” said Prasad Kulapkar, a Gorai resident and activist. Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS), too, had helped residents by escalating the complaint to Education Minister Vinod Tawde. “We appreciate the school authorities for acceding to parents’ demands. They cannot enforce ICSE curriculum just for the sake of it,” said Nayan Kadam, MNS vice-president.

Established in 1995, SVIS is affiliated to MSBSHSE. It introduced the Indian Certificate of Secondary Education (ICSE) curriculum in 2013-14 and has been expanding in a phased manner by natural progression each year since. But they will now continue with both the boards simultaneously, without discontinuing either of them.