HC allows 8 year old kid to sit in HSc Exam

Cuttack, Mar 6 (UNI) Much to the delight of eight-year-old wonder kid Bismaya, the Orissa High Court today allowed him to sit in the High School certificate examination beginning in the state tomorrow.

Till yesterday Millennium Bismaya was uncertain if he would be able to appear in the examination as the rules of the Orissa Education Act clearly prescribed that students below 14 years could not sit for the HSc Examination.

A division bench of the Orissa High Court, comprising Justices I M Quddiusi and A K Samantray, which heard the petition of the maternal uncle of the wonder kid, permitted Bismaya to sit in the examination.

Bismaya would be the youngest boy in the country to appear for the HSc Examination. Earlier, Tathagat Tulsi of Bihar was allowed to appear High School certificate examination at the age of nine. This year a seven-year-old girl from Uttar Pradesh has been permitted by the court to sit for the HSc examination.

Bismaya's uncle had moved the court in December 2006 when the Board of Secondary Education denied permission to the little boy to appear for the examination citing the prescribed rules, though the Board had earlier conducted a potential test to judge his mental competency.

Much to the surprise of the experts, the boy secured 62 per cent marks in the subject competence test conducted by the board. The state government also refused to permit the boy to sit in the final HSc Examination on the ground that he had not received any formal education nor attended any school.

Bismay came to the limelight in September 2006 when he qualified for the pre-test examination to appear in the HSc examination. His uncle had to move the Court seeking a direction to the authority concerned to condone his age and allow him to appear the examination.

The division bench while allowing the child prodigy to sit for the examination, observed that the result of the examination would not be published pending final disposal of the writ petition.

UNI