India, May 9 -- According to Maharashtra State Board data released on Friday, a staggering 80,803 students failed in Marathi paper in the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations, raising concerns among educationists.

Out of 10,98,623 students who had registered for the Marathi first language paper, 10,87,699 students appeared, while 10,06,896 passed, taking the subject's pass percentage to 92.57 per cent. However, the failure of nearly eight per cent of students in the state's official language has triggered debate over the declining command of Marathi among school students.

In addition, Marathi was chosen as a second or third language by 4,13,917 students, of whom 13,741 failed. Altogether, around 94,544 students failed in Mara...