The students and their parents have heaved a sigh of relief. “I am glad he has given us this option,” says Sylvie Mehta, mother of Girish who is among the 48. Mehta, along with 20-odd other parents, met Pinto on Wednesday.

She thinks the circular issued to the school by the Education department made Pinto retract from his earlier stand.

Her son will be returning to St Columba’s when the session begins on April 7, but she is anxious: “He (Pinto) was very angry. I hope the kids don’t face any discrimination.”

Another parent, Kalpesh Tiwari, says he doesn’t hold any grudges against the school. “I explained to Brother Pinto that my son had medical problems and he agreed to let him repeat the year. I think he was trying to give them a jolt.”

Jaiman Gomez is relieved to stay on in the school. “It will be strange to repeat the year, but adjusting to a new school would have been worse.”

Other students are not feeling as positive. “I am very disheartened. I can’t go back there,” says Joseph Kurchera. He had failed in one paper, but the school’s policy does not permit a retest.

For now, Kurchera is “just sitting at home”, while his parents are trying to secure his admission to Class XII in other schools. With a transfer certificate that says ‘failed, may be promoted to Class XII’, he is not confident about his chances.

“The morale of students is still low,” says Ravi James. “They don’t really want us back, and have said exams will be even tougher next year. What if they fail us again?”

Education Secretary Rina Ray has confirmed that St Columba’s has responded to its circular. “It’s a lengthy document. We are still going through the details,” she said.