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Test result copy has education minister’s photo: schools upset
The hard copy of the results of the first ever aptitude test conducted by the Maharashtra state government carried the photo of education minister Vinod Tawde. He negated claims of self promotions, asserting that it was a photo that accompanied his message for students.
Around 16 lakh students were in for a surprise when they received the result for the first ever state sponsored aptitude test. The result carried education minister Vinod Tawde's photo on it. The photo has also upset school teachers in the city.
The said aptitude test was conducted for class X students in February and the students received a hard copy of the result on Wednesday along with their SSC mark-sheets.
"The first thing I noticed when we began distributing the report card to students was the photo. Neither was the test conducted by the minister nor was the report card printed by him, so why have his photo? We have never seen anything like this before," said the trustee of a chain of schools in the city.
Teachers were of the opinion that the report card was used for self-promotion by the minister and was unacceptable. "Courts restrain politicians from even putting up posters on roads without permission, so how can Tawde put his photo on the report card? This is advertising at tax-payers' expense," said a teacher in Malad.
A teacher from a school in Andheri said, "The students do not understand the issue on a macro-level but many asked why was the minister's picture on the report card instead of theirs. It has only their name and roll number."
After hearing about the adverse reactions from academic quarters, Tawde proactively responded saying that it wasn’t a promotion but the photo was accompanied by a message for the students. "For 15-20 years, the previous government never thought of conducting an aptitude test for students. We started this initiative for students. The issues raised about my picture are politically driven. The students need only their SSC mark-sheets and not the aptitude test report card for applying in colleges. The mark-sheet does not have the picture. The aptitude test report makes a suggestion on the career the student must opt for, and I have only given my wishes to the students, through a message on it”, he said.