Menstruating SSC examinee denied washroom break in Maharashtra

PUNE: An SSC student, taking her board exam in Nashik on March 13, was allegedly denied permission to use the washroom by a woman invigilator when she said she had started menstruating, forcing her to sit through the remaining hour of the assessment.

State board chairman Trigun Kulkarni on Tuesday termed the incident 'wrong' and clarified that there is no rule prohibiting students from going to the toilet during an exam. He said, "Natural processes should not be curtailed. There is no rule that says students cannot use the washroom during the exam. Teachers should allow students to use the washroom."

Nashik divisional board chairman Subhash Borse said a show-cause notice was issued to the chief invigilator of the centre on March 20, and a reply is expected.

"We received the complaint on the day after the exam. We have sent a show-cause notice to the chief invigilator who is also the school's principal to explain why the teacher did not allow a student to use the toilet. There are no rules forbidding it and especially in this situation, she should have been allowed," Borse added. Speaking to TOI, the student said she started her period during her science exam. "An hour was left for the exam to end and I told the teacher about it. But she refused to let me go to the washroom. I returned to my seat but couldn't concentrate. My stomach started aching and I went back to her with the request to go to the toilet but she said the rules did not permit going to the washroom. I sat in my seat and my clothes were stained," the student added.

After the examination ended, she told her friends to cover her as the sullied dress was an embarrassment. "Our bags are kept far from the classrooms and my sanitary napkin was inside it. I requested a lady helper if I could get a pad to which she said the school did not have any," she said. Her cousin, who came to pick her up after the exam, said that she looked distressed. "We were going to our place for lunch, but she insisted on going back home. She told me what had happened and I complained to the board authorities. We don't want the teacher to be punished. We want the board to sensitize invigilators," he added.

The student's aunt said the board should issue guidelines stating that toilets can be accessed by students during an exam. "How can a student concentrate on writing the paper if he or she has to go to the washroom? On humanitarian grounds alone, my niece should have been allowed to use the washroom. We are not blaming the teacher but no child must suffer due to lack of access to a toilet," she added.