PSEB goof-up triggers panic among Class XII passouts

A day after the PSEB withdrew Mohini’s name from the top position owing to wrong marking,over 3,000 forms for rechecking were sold from the PSEB headquarters here on Wednesday.

Uncertain about their result,hundreds of candidates from far and wide started converging at the board’s headquarters in Phase VIII since morning and waited in serpentine queues to buy the rechecking forms.

Though the board insiders say it was for the first time that such a large number of rechecking forms were sold on a single day,PSEB Chairman Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon termed it a “routine exercise”.

“Over 3 lakh students appeared in exams and few thousands going for rechecking is not a strange thing,” claimed he,while ruling out any connection of rush for rechecking with the goof-up.

If sources are to be believed,paying Rs 250 for rechecking of each subject paper is not without a reason and the effect of the goof up was evident from the huge rush emerging only a day after. “It will continue for the next few days,” claimed an official.

Though PSEB claims that it was the invigilator,who was responsible for giving wrong subject code,the mistake has also brought under the scanner the working of a Delhi-based private firm,which was hired for the first time to compile the result.

Under the bar code system adopted on the pattern of the UPSC,the PSEB had for the first time outsourced the work of compilation of Class XII and Class X result to two Delhi-based private firms. Though the exact expenditure borne on private job was not yet ascertained,the officials claimed that it was over 50 per cent more than the previous system when the result was compiled by Board employees and teachers.

The PSEB chairman said the bar code system and working of private firms turned fully successful but the board employees and teachers were aggrieved over the cut in their incomes. He,however,refused to reveal the amount paid to the private firms.

Denials apart,the bar code system came under suspicion when an invigilator today called by PSEB was aware of the roll number of an answer sheet checked by him. Under the system,answer sheets were supplied to invigilators without roll numbers. “On the complaint of a candidate when we called concerned invigilator,we were shocked when he revealed roll number of the said candidate,” said an official.

Probe ordered

A day after ruling out any action,PSEB Chairman Dr Dalbir Singh Dhillon on Wednesday ordered a probe into the circumstances leading to wrong declaration of result. “Strict action would be taken against the errant employee,” said Dr Dhillon,who today himself talked over phone to Mohini to regret the serious lapse. “I would even personally visit the candidate to make her understand the error,” the PSEB chairman said.