SC decision to provide answer sheets to students good,say schools

Opinions of school administration is,however,divided. While many feel making the answer scripts available to students will make marking “objective and accurate”,others said it will create problems like “how to maintain the confidentiality of the examiner” .

Abha Sahgal,principal of Sanskriti School-Chanakyapuri,said,“We always make the answer sheets available to the students,even the final examination scripts. This helps students understand where they went wrong and they can rectify it next time. I think this order will help make marking more accurate and objective.”

Ameeta Wattal,principal of Springdales School-Pusa,seconded the view. “The board allows re-totaling (re-tabulation) of marks right now. But there can be unchecked portions in an answer script. It is quite possible that a mistake has been made. Our school is one of the centers for checking board papers and I have seen examiners who mark answer sheets liberally while others are cautious. Now,if in doubt,students can ask for re-evaluation.”

Principal of Ahlcon Public School at Mayur Vihar R K Sharma,however,is cautious. “Problems will arise when even the high scoring students ask for re-evaluation. It will get a bit hectic and will add to the burden of CBSE.”

He added that for genuine cases,“like if a child is failing in a subject and teachers and parents feel that the answer script should be re-evaluated,then it is fine”.

According to him,“a teacher’s judgment should not be challenged.”

There are also concerns regarding confidentiality of the examiner. D K Bedi,principal of Apeejay School-Pitampura,said: “Students should not be given the original scripts. I have had cases where a child,after receiving the answer sheet,makes addition to it and comes back to the teacher to ask for more marks. So,we give photocopies of the answer script to the students.”

Answer scripts have signatures of the examiner and there is a fear that if disclosed,they might be harassed.