thane nearly 80 candidates across the political spectrum contesting polls to the 130seat thane municipal corporation have not gone beyond ssc or class xii according to data culled by toi from affidavits filed by aspiring city fathers the poor academic record of so many contestants and the political parties decision to overlook their qualifications has shocked locals as the fastexpanding city needs leadership steeped in managerial and administrative skills the city is considered high on literacy standards but profiles of probables reveal that school or college education does not merit a party ticket only nine of the 381 candidates fielded by the congressnationalist congress party shiv senabharatiya janata party and maharashtra navnirman sena mns have a law degree there are nine qualified engineers and only two medical professionals in the fray much to the disappointment of 1196 lakh voters who will elect corporators for a fiveyear term on february 16 two candidates fielded by the sena have not even attended school and their affidavits mention their educational qualifications as illiterate the two belong to wards 47 and 41 largely dominated by slums it is not that we are averse to people with educational or professional qualifications but how many actually participate in the political process and are willing to go through the roughandtumble of daytoday affairs most lack formal education due to circumstances which were beyond their control however they are equally sincere when it comes to reaching out to the needy and offering help said sena leader eknath shinde of the candidates put up by five prominent political parties 40 have completed graduation while 48 are undergraduates the school dropouts seeking to represent wards which have a population of 18000 to 20000 citizens are 89 of which 49 have not even passed class viii five are semiliterate having listed their educational status as up to class v