The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), by providing incorrect answers to evaluating teachers, has jeopardised the fate of over 17.5 lakh students who took the Class X board exams earlier this year.
Experts have detected a dozen such bloopers so far and are going through questions and answers of all subjects to measure the magnitude of the problem. A couple of questions also have grave spelling mistakes.
Here's an example. A multiple choice question asked: "Which of the following is not used as a cooking fuel?" The answer options included CNG, LPG, biogas and coal. The answer key given to the evaluators says LPG is the correct answer.
The score sheet for science subjects provided to teachers to enter marks differs completely from the way ques-tions are numbered in the test paper, leading to total confusion.
The subjective-type questions in Physics, Chemistry and Biology were numbered 1 to 10 for each subject in the question paper, and multiple choice questions were numbered 1 to 7 each for the three subjects.
However, the teachers were provided a score sheet in which questions were numbered 1 to 68, which again has led to confusion in entering marks for every question at the right place.
This may lead to chaos if students seek re-evalua-tion as nobody will know which answer is for which question.
The evaluation work, however, has been completed and all the answer sheets have been marked. Marks for the subjects are being entered in the computer to prepare the results.
The board is now all at sea and is trying to devise steps to clear the air over what could affect the first important result of a student's academic career.
What aggravated the problem is that for the first time, the board used the services of primary and middle school teachers to evaluate get Class X board examination answer sheets. This was against the rules because only high school and higher secondary teachers with least three years of teaching experience are eligible to evaluate Class X board papers.
A senior board official accepted that blunders have happened, but pointed out that primary and middle school teachers were called for evaluation work because "secondary level teachers were abstaining from evaluation work from April 1 to April 15 as a form of satyagraha (agitation) to press for equal pay for equal work and other demands."
The board official added: "Had primary and middle school teachers not been roped in, evaluation work would have been delayed, resulting in delay in publishing of results which in turn would have jeopardised the admission possibilities of students in higher classes, especially those who want to go outside Bihar for further studies."
Another board source confirmed that evaluation work was over and preparations were being made to publish the results by the end of this month.
The source said the answer keys were prepared by a group of teachers of different subjects empanelled with the board.
The blunders has been brought to the notice of board chairman Anand Kishor and secretary Anup Kumar Sinha but no corrective action has been taken so far, the source added.
Anand did not respond to calls and text messages on his mobile number, but Anup said: "I will have to see what the matter is. I am not aware of it. We will talk to the examination controller to find out what could be done."
Bihar Secondary School Teachers' Association president and MLC Kedar Nath Pandey hit out at the board.
"This is complete irresponsible behaviour by the BSEB," he said.
"The facts that have come to light show how bureaucracy doesn't understand and take steps to maintain high educational standards in the state. It all happened because they used ineligible primary and middle school teachers to evaluate answer sheets and hired the services of incompetent people to provide answer keys."
