Date:30/12/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/12/30/stories/2008123059130300.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Information Commissioner’s directive to CBSE draws mixed response

Meera Srinivasan

Students think it will ensure greater transparency, authorities say it could lead to confusion

CHENNAI: “I expected more in Mathematics. I even discussed all my answers with my teacher after the exam, and she said I would get more than 92. I can’t believe I have got just 84.” It is common to find students expressing such disbelief after the public examinations results are declared every year.

After different boards declare the results of the public examination, a good number of students apply for photocopies of answer scripts, re-totalling and revaluation. When every mark can make a huge difference, they are, perhaps, justified in doing so.

Interestingly, this issue has come to the fore well ahead of the public examinations this year. Central Information Commissioner Shailesh Gandhi passed an order on December 22 asking the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to provide answer-wise marks sought by appellant, under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.

“This is not a decision directed at any Board or individual. I am not a law maker. I only asked the Public Information Officer reasons for withholding information and the person could not cite any exemptions under Section 8 (1) or reasons that are legally valid,” Mr. Gandhi told The Hindu on Monday.

Information that can be denied under the RTI has to be specifically mentioned in the Act. All other information has to be given. “The law is very clear. Tomorrow, if the Public Information Officer points to an exemption, we will take a fresh look at it,” he added.

CBSE’s Controller of Examination, New Delhi, M.C. Sharma, told The Hindu that the Board would soon make a representation to the Central Information Commission (CIC) to reconsider this decision.

What students feel

B. Srivatsan, a Class XII student of Sankara Senior Secondary School had applied for verification of his English marks after his Class X board examination. “I had been scoring fairly well throughout the year, but I got 74 in my boards,” he said. His marks, however, remained unchanged.

Asked what he thought of CIC’s latest decision, he said: “It is a great move. Students will know where exactly they went wrong. Moreover, it will ensure more transparency in the evaluation process,” he added.

However, principal of Hindu Senior Secondary School Padmini Sriram felt that the CBSE’s current system was apt. “Even now, students get to know if there is a change in marks. The CBSE gives a clear picture. It may be tedious for the Board to give answer-wise marks when lakhs of students appear for the examination every year. Also, it may cause confusion during college admissions,” she said.

Some educational boards and universities in the country have been providing photocopies of answer sheets to students, even before the RTI Act was passed. Tamil Nadu’s State Board has been providing photocopies of answer sheets of core subjects to student-applicants who took the Class XII Higher Secondary examination. The practice started even before the State Information Commission approached them. President of the Association of principals of Matriculation Schools in Tamil Nadu N. Vijayan said the practice has been immensely helpful. “Every year about 10 per cent of children get more marks after revaluation, while a few lose marks. It has brought in more transparency and also improved the quality of correction, as the evaluators know that the answer script could reach the student later.”