As many as 17.36 lakh students who appeared for Class X examinations this year took part in the "kalchachni" (aptitude) online test and 21 per cent of them evinced interest in joining the Commerce stream, state Education Minister Vinod Tawde said.
The online aptitude test is conducted by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education in order check students' inclination towards streams like Arts, Commerce, Technical, Health Sciences, Agriculture and Fine Arts.
Addressing a press conference here, Tawde said that a total of 17,36,104 students participated in the online test and 21 per cent wanted to join the Commerce stream.
The test conducted in 2017 had thrown up Fine Arts as the preferred choice of participating students.
Tawde said that the government, from the forthcoming academic year, planned to conduct the test earlier so as to help students in a better way.
"It is an initiative of the State Education Board and the Shyamchi Aai Foundation and has helped students make informed choices for the future," Tawde said.