The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the Central Board of Secondary Education to continue awarding grace marks to students to maintain parity in the evaluation process. The CBSE Board exam results which were scheduled to be announced tomorrow, i.e. May 24th, 2017, are now likely to be postponed considering the order.
A PIL was filed by a parent and a lawyer challenging the change in marking policy which was to be implemented by the board this cycle onwards. The interim order was passed by Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Pratibha M Singh on May 23rd, 2017. The scrapping of moderation policy was deliberated and brought to a consensus in a meeting held in April, which witnessed the presence of 32 school boards. The petition sought to contend the decision on the grounds that the alteration in marking policy was executed through a notification by the CBSE after the culmination of exams. Hence, it would have a severe impact on students.
Until now, ‘moderation’ has been a common practice undertaken by school boards to maintain uniformity in the evaluation procedure. This is done considering the variances in difficulty level and other factors. However, its erroneous usage has also been cited as the foundational reason for the percentage spike, leading to cut-offs of 100% for a few courses by various colleges in the varsity since the last few years.
Last week, the CBSE appealed to the University of Delhi’s Vice Chancellor to grant appropriate weightage to the CBSE students for the undergraduate admissions, as it removed the moderation policy and anticipated a drop in scores. The students might face a disadvantage due to the practice still being adhered to by the other state boards. DU, however, rejected this plea.
The Delhi High Court regarded CBSE’s decision as “unfair and irresponsible,” and questioned the implementation of the change in policy from this year onwards, considering the results for the academic session 2016-17 are to be announced soon. The decision is said to have a “drastic effect on the students.”
Kirti Wadhwa, a recent pass-out, comments, “Moderation or no moderation, CBSE students continue to be the potential victims of flawed policies. Sadly, the ones at the highest disadvantage are the ones most deserving. Moderation means getting but not deserving, hence a hike in the competition. No moderation only in CBSE means no Delhites in the University of Delhi.”
“It would have been better had we been informed earlier about the alteration in the marking policy. Undoubtedly, the students are at an evident loss here,” says Aditya Subramaniam, a DU aspirant aiming to gain admission in the varsity.
Due to the order, the Board results are likely to be affected and delayed. The University of Delhi’s online undergraduate admissions portal became operational yesterday, with the last date for registration decided as June 12th, 2017.
Image Credits: The Financial Express
Saumya Kalia