West Bengal Board of Secondary Education allows 12-year-old to appear in Madhyamik

TNN | KOLKATA: A 12-year-old girl from Howrah, who has never been to school, has been found eligible to sit for the West Bengal Board of Secondary Education (WBBSE) examination in 2019, an official said on Thursday. In 1991, an eight-year-old girl from Purulia, Mousumi Chakraborty, had appeared in the Madhyamik - the last time an underage candidate appeared for the board exam.

" Saifa Khatun has never been to school. The girl did quite well in the preparatory test we conducted. So, we have allowed her to appear in the WBBSE examination in 2019," said Kalyanmoy Ganguly, WBBSE president. According to a source, only candidates, who were born before October 31, 2004, can appear in the Madhyamik, starting on February 12, 2019. On that day, Saifa will be 12 years and three months old.

Her father Md Enamul, a village medic, had appealed to the board to allow his daughter to take Madhyamik examinations as an external candidate. "I have imparted her lessons at home. It was only after she completed studying the Class-IX text books that we thought that she can appear for the Madhyamik," Enamul said. "I have been studying at home for the past several years. I want to do well in Madhyamik too," Saifa said.

After receiving the application, the board conducted a preparatory test for the applicant. The girl, sources said, secured more than an average of 50% in all the seven papers.