Puja, a class 10th student at a government school in the national capital has been staying with her family inside a public toilet in South Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar. She is one of those less privileged students who have been struggling to pay registration fees for board exam registration, this year.

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According to a report by NDTV, over three lakh students are currently studying in Class 10 and 12 in government schools in Delhi. The registration fees to be paid to sit for the board exams is ₹1,800 for Class 10 and ₹3,100 for Class 12.

The students who fail to pay the fees will not have their names registered and hence would not be allowed to sit for the examinations.

In 2019, the Delhi Government footed this bill of exam fees after CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) hiked the registration fees. However, during the on-going coronavirus pandemic, the Delhi Government has refused to pay the registration fees citing lack of financial resources.

According to Delhi Government sources, paying the registration fees of students would amount to ₹100 crore and it cannot bear this as it is already facing a shortfall of 91 per cent in the revenue in comparison to last year.

Puja’s father who is the sole breadwinner in a family of five earns his livelihood from the charges people pay when they use the toilet. Puja’s mother works as domestic help.

‘We are so poor it’s hard to even describe. If we had the money we would have given it. If we are unable to give the fees she won’t be able to give exams and will be confined to this home forever,’ said Somveer, Puja’s father.

‘We don’t have money to give the fees but I want to study in the future. My mother was also jobless and at home for the last 2-3 months. She has just been back to work and will receive salary next month,’ said Puja.

In recent developments, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday, October 7 issued notice to the CBSE, Delhi Government and the Central government over a petition against the rise in the examination fees. The plea was filed by an association called the Parents Forum for Meaningful Education which stated that the Board ‘arbitrarily’ enhanced the exam fees in 2019-20 and was charging the same this year too when people has been hit financially by the coronavirus pandemic.

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