Secondary school certificate students in civic schools to get free coaching

AURANGABAD: Parents of municipal school students can heave a sigh of relief as the civic body has decided to make special arrangements for giving the students a free access to private coaching. The municipal authorities have asked promoters of most of the coaching classes in the city to offer free of cost coaching to all the municipal school students appearing for secondary school certificate (SSC). “We have asked the promoters to offer the facility to the students. Many students in our schools cannot afford private tuitions because of hefty fees. But now they have an option to join classes in their vicinity,” D M Mugalikar, municipal commissioner, told TOI on Saturday. Students appearing for SSC examination in 2018 can join the classes without paying any charges. There are about 12 municipal schools in the city wherein nearly 500 students are studying in class X. On the other hand, over 25 reputed agencies are conducting coaching classes across the city. Mugalikar, who is working hard to encourage non-governmental organisations, corporate houses and private institutions to contribute in developing various civic amenities, recently appealed to some of the promoters of the coaching classes to support the municipal school students. Meanwhile, sources in the civic body told TOI that most of the coaching classes, utilising civic body’s open spaces or public utility space for parking, have come forward to help the students only to avoid action against them. In the last academic session, the then municipal commissioner Om Prakash Bakoria had expressed serious concerns over the unsatisfactory performances of the students including those appearing for SSC examination after conducting surprise tests. He had said that many students in municipal schools were weak in important subjects like Mathematics and English.