Maharashtra State Board Proposes To Hike Exam Fees By 30% For SSC And HSC Students

Pune, 17th December 2022: Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) is in financial loss. Due to the huge increase in expenditure compared to the income, the board is facing a loss of Rs 40 to 50 crores, and to control the financial loss, a proposal was made to the state government to increase the examination fee of classes 10 and 12 by 30 percent.

MSBSHSE chairman Sharad Gosavi said that it has been proposed to the government to increase the fee for the 10th (SSC) and 12th (HSC) examinations by 30 percent. If the proposal is approved, the fee increase will be implemented for the following years.

The Board is an autonomous body of the State Government. Approximately 30 lakh students of classes 10th and 12th are examined by the state board. Since the state board is autonomous, the financial management is done at the level of the organization itself. The state board gets income through the 10th-12th examination fees, fees for photocopies of answer sheets, etc. Currently, the fee for class 10 is Rs 375, while the fee for class 12 is Rs 415. About Rs 180 crores is generated through exam fees and photocopies of answer sheets.

After the 2017 fee hike by the state board, there has been no fee hike in the last six years. But in the meantime, there has been a huge increase in other expenses.

According to a report by the Marathi newspaper Loksatta, the state board has gone into loss due to an increase in expenditure without an increase in income.

The Board is not funded by the state government. Along with the establishment expenses, as per the rules of the government, the board has to bear the expenses such as the salary of employees, pension of retired employees, facilities for students, remuneration of examiners, the salary of contract employees, etc.

Earlier there were approximately 35 lakh students in classes 10th and 12th together. Now, as the number of students has reduced to 30 lakhs, there has been no increase in income.

But in the last few years, fuel prices have increased, paper prices have increased, and manpower costs have increased significantly. As a result, the board has to bear a loss of Rs 40 to 50 crores. The time has come for the Board to use interest for various expenses. Officials said that if there is no increase in the income of the board, there is a possibility of the board getting into financial trouble.