SSC Student Takes Board Exam From ICU Bed In Mumbai

A Secondary School Certificate (SSC) student has impressed everyone who knows him by opting to take his board test from a hospital bed despite being gravely injured in an accident on Wednesday. Quick action by school and state board authorities resulted in a unique arrangement that allowed Ethen Estebeiro, an SSC student from St Stanislaus High School in Bandra, to take the board exam on Thursday morning with the help of a writer.

Ethen was struck by a biker on the Mahim Causeway early Wednesday morning. He sustained a collarbone fracture and other severe bruises on his body, including his face. He was admitted to S L Raheja Hospital in Mahim. According to Ethen’s parents, they tried to soothe him by recommending that he forego the examinations and take them the next year. But the Mahim resident stayed firm on his decision. His parents alerted the school, and the principal notified the Mumbai Divisional Board headquarters. Within a day, the required documentation and approvals were obtained, and the hospital management converted an isolation unit into an exam hall.

Sandeep Kharmale, the HSC and SSC test custodian designated by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education’s (MSBSHSE) Mumbai Division, stated, “As soon as the school notified us, we advised them of the required paperwork. Shipping exam answer sheets to exam venues is a highly secret process. Also, shipping a question paper via runner to a location other than the designated exam site has its own set of conditions, therefore we requested assistance from the school’s officials. We then notified the Bandra police to assign officers.”