Guwahati, July 20: The Board of Secondary Education, Assam, (Seba) has decided to raise the fee paid to teachers evaluating matric answer scripts from next year in an attempt to streamline its controversy-ridden evaluation system.

The board also created history of sorts today by publishing the schedule for the 2013 matric examination seven months ahead.

Education minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the teachers would be given Rs 10 instead of the existing Rs 2 for every matric answer script evaluated from next year. He said the hike was one of the few incentives that the board would offer to motivate and attract more sincere teachers to take part in the evaluation process.

“Seba has been giving Rs 2 to its evaluators for a long time. In the wake of price rise in every sphere, the amount is considered to very little and does not motivate good evaluators. The hike is expected to attract sincere evaluators,” Sarma said.

The board is responsible for preparing the syllabi for Classes IX and X and conducting the matric examination, in which more than four lakh students appear every year.

Admitting the lacunae in the existing evaluation system, Sarma said various reform measures would be adopted in the coming days to work out a scientific and error-free system. “The government has already instructed Seba to hold consultations with the Central Board of Secondary Education on how to follow the latter’s evaluation system. Seba will try to address the common grievances of the state’s students, including the lower scores compared to their CBSE counterparts,” he said.

Sarma said the Seba today created history by publishing the matric schedule for 2013, seven months ahead of the examination. According to the schedule, the 2013 matric will commence on February 19 and conclude on March 5. “The prime objective of publishing the exam routine so early is to help students mentally prepare themselves and plan ahead to perform brilliantly in matric,” he said.

On the other hand, in accordance with the action plan for smooth and hassle-free conduct of matric examination 2013, Sarma said Seba would finalise the examination centres by August 30.

Filling up of examination forms will take place from September 1 to 16. The schools or examinations centres will submit the forms to Seba on September 17. The candidates will receive their admit cards by November.

Sarma said Seba would activate the spot evaluation zones on March 10 next year and is expected to declare the results before May 15.

The minister said the board would now have an official spokesperson whose sole responsibility would be to interact with the media and public to remove any confusion and uncertainty related to the matric examinations.

In another development, the Assam Assembly today passed a bill to amend the Assam Venture Educational Institution (Pronvincialisation of Services) Act, 2011.

The bill will do away with the provision in the act that stipulated that the services of only those teachers of venture educational institutions who had completed 10 years of service from the date of affiliation, recognition, concurrence or permission of the institution concerned would be provincialised.

According to the amendment bill – Assam Venture Educational Institutions (Provincialisation of Services) (Amendment) Bill, 2012 – which was passed today, services of all employees of all eligible venture educational institutions, which have completed 10 years, will be provincialised.