TIRUCHY: When Class 12 exams this year were cancelled and students awarded marks based on their Class 10 and 11 exam scores, those who had decided to appear as private candidates had to physically sit for the exam. However, while those who never sat for the exams got seats in colleges of their choice, a resident of Paapapatti village in Musiri could not do so because he did not have a marksheet at the time of applying for seats.
S Yuvaraj (20) took the supplementary exam from August 6 to 19, the results of which came only on September 13.
After submitting a petition to Collector S Sivarasu seeking help to get a seat, Yuvaraj told TNIE, “Many colleges filled their seats immediately after Class 12 results were released. I wanted to pursue BA history in colleges at Ayyampalayam or Musiri. However, neither had any seat left when I received the result. I live in Paapapatti with my mother and a brother. My family can’t afford to send me to far-off colleges because of cost factor. Owing to a family issue, I could not continue regular school after Class 10 and had to take a two-year break. I secured 421 in Class 11 and 473 in Class 12, both of which I wrote as a private candidate during the pandemic. This is not a poor score. Many with lower scores have got seats in colleges. I lost that opportunity only because I could not go to school like the others.”
According to sources, over 50,000 youth took the exams as private candidates across the State. While the disabled and those with special needs were exempted from writing the exam and given a pass, others had to sit for the exam.
Responding to the issue, Regional Joint Director of College Education, Tiruchy, Mekala told TNIE, “There is no direction for us to deal with situations like this. However, if the candidate wishes to join any other college with vacancy or a course with seats available, there will be no issue. If any issue crops up in this, we would help the candidate get a seat.”