SSC, HSC students can use RTI to see answer sheets

SSC, HSC students can use RTI to see answer sheets

The state education board is set to usher in a more transparent evaluation system: starting this year, students sitting for the Class X state board exam and the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) will be able to get a copy of their corrected answer booklets under the Right To Information (RTI) Act. In the past, the state board did not entertain RTI applications from students who wished to see their evaluated papers, but will now have to do so in accordance with an August 2011 SC ruling. Education officials said a circular has been sent to all city SSC schools and junior colleges directing faculty to ensure that students are aware of this new feature. The state board is yet to inform students of the procedure and deadlines.
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"Students have every right to know where they went wrong and how they were marked. The SC order was announced a couple of months ago and we have decided to implement it this year itself," said Ravindra Bhise, divisional secretary of the state board. This new rule will also bring in a measure of accountability. The circular said that if the board finds fault in the marking process of a paper, which a student has submitted for revaluation, the examiner and moderator of that paper will be held responsible.

In August 2011, the SC had announced that "any student aggrieved by the marks awarded to him/her in the exams can now make an application and have a look at how the marks have been awarded". Principals believe that other boards, too, should adopt this rule. "Though we haven't been notified by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations, the ICSE board being a national board comes under the purview of the RTI Act. Our students should be able to avail of this feature," said Carl Laurie, principal of Christ Church School.

This is a year of many firsts for the state board, which has announced that the final Science practicals for SSC students can be evaluated by the school itself. With a change in the Science and Math curriculum, the evaluation process for these subjects has also changed. SSC students will appear for a 60-mark theory (Science) paper at the examination centre. The remaining 40 marks are divided into 20-mark practicals and a 20-mark objective-type question paper, which will be conducted and evaluated by the school itself.

"As the internal marking for the rest of the subjects is handled by the school, we decided that even the Science practicals for Class X students can be held without the need for an external examiner," said an official from the state board, Pune. "We aim to ensure that students get through the examination season with as little tension as possible. We are doing everything in our capacity to help our students," added Bhise. HSC exams will begin on February 21, while the SSC examination will start on March 1.

Source : http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-09/mumbai/31042493_1_hsc-students-hsc-exams-higher-secondary-certificate
Times of India ( 9.2.12)