Outside her exam center in Nowhatta Srinagar, waiting for permission to sit for her exams, tears flooded Toiba Yaqoob’s eyes.
A Class 10 student, she had arrived to give her first paper in her matriculation exams after months of preparation, only to be turned away.
A mistake on her roll number slip, caused by the school she was registered with typing the wrong name, shattered her dreams and hopes.
As per details collected by the news agency—JKNS, Toiba Yaqoob, a Class 10 student of Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Khanyar, was unable to sit for her annual board examinations due to an error on her roll number slip.
The slip she received carried the name “Toiba Fayaz” instead of her actual name. “The school later attributed the mistake to a technical error, but it ultimately cost the child a crucial academic year.”
Speaking to JKNS, Toiba said she received a roll number slip with the wrong name, Toiba Fayaz, while her actual name was Toiba Yaqoob.
“I reached the exam center, and teachers there asked me to show my roll number slip. When the name mismatched, they said you will not be allowed to sit,” Toiba said.
She added that despite preparing for months, she was not permitted to appear. “I begged those inside the exam center, but they didn’t allow me,” she said as tears rolled down her cheeks.
“My school principal assured me until the exam started that I would get the correct roll number slip, but that didn’t happen,” she said in a cracking voice while wiping her tears.
“Mere bache se kya zatiyaat nikala gaya? Isne kya kiya?” (“What has my child done? What was her fault?”) cried Toiba’s mother outside the exam center.
Principal of Government Higher Secondary School (GHSS) Khanyar, as per news JKNS, admitted the school’s mistake. “When the exam form was being filled, due to human error, the student’s name was typed incorrectly as Toiba Fayaz instead of Toiba Yaqoob,” he said.
“We received the roll number slip, we noticed the mistake and, on the same day, mailed JKBOSE, requesting a rectified roll number slip and informing them about the error,” the principal said.
She added she personally visited JKBOSE continuously for seven days and was assured that the student would receive the admit card, but Toiba did not get it. “I was informed by the Joint Secretary of JKBOSE on Sunday evening, a day before the exam, that the student would receive the admit card shortly. However, nothing happened. I was later told that I needed a nod from the Secretary of JKBOSE, but now the student was not allowed to sit in the exam without the roll number slip,” she said.
“If this doesn’t happen, she will be allowed to appear in the next exams scheduled after two months, as the NEP allows students to take two exams in one year,” she added.—(JKNS)