Over 50% CBSE Class-12 students seeking re-evaluation get marks increased
There seems to be no end to CBSE's gaffes. A TOI report reveals that over half of the 9,111 Class-12 students who applied for re-evaluation this time had their marks increased. Nagpur even got a new topper, as Ishrita Gupta's marks increased by as much as 22! Though CBSE has initiated action against erring teachers, who will compensate students for the lost time, money and opportunities?
CBSE has a three-step process for re-evaluation
The process to seek re-evaluation is three-step: first, the student has to apply for 'verification,' wherein examiners check for totaling errors. Then one can seek a copy of the answer sheet. Only in the third step, 're-evaluation,' are answers re-checked and re-marked. The process is costly: verification costs Rs. 500, photocopy Rs. 700, and re-evaluation (per question, maximum 10 questions) Rs. 100.
After verification, marks increased by as much as 400%!
Last month, TOI reported that CBSE had received over 10,000 requests for Class 10 and 12 students for verification. Eventually, a girl's marks in English increased from 16 to 80. Someone who got 37 in Urdu after verification was initially scored zero! Someone who scored 45 in chemistry got 95 after his marks were corrected. All these errors had passed through two layers of scrutiny.
Marks increased for 4,632 students, CBSE claims "all-time low" error-rate
Now, 4,632 students who applied for re-evaluation have had marks increased. Common mistakes included awarding less marks for correct answers, or not evaluating answers at all. CBSE says it has initiated action against 214 teachers for "huge" blunders. It also claimed 99.6% of all copies were correctly evaluated. The "all-time low" error rate of 0.4% was due to "pressure on evaluators": 50,000 evaluators checked 61.34L copies.
But what about students' lost admissions, time and money?
Retrospective action against teachers doesn't cure anything for the affected students, many of whom couldn't get admission to their preferred colleges due to their low marks. By the time marks increased, admission dates were over. They also had to bear the financial burden: seeking re-evaluation would mean minimum expenses of Rs. 1,300 per subject. Many don't even apply due to the high amount.
A Delhi principal has a solution
The principal of a Delhi school has a solution to make the process a little easier: CBSE should send e-copies of answer sheets to all students. That way, "those whose copies are clean won't even apply."
