Guwahati, Oct. 18: The Board of Secondary Education, Assam (Seba), will approach the Council of Boards of School Education of India, the apex association of all school boards, seeking guidance on its marking system in the matric examination.

Seba has been accused of giving low marks compared to other boards in the country. There have been instances in the past when candidates had dragged the board to court for alleged low allocation of marks.

Seba chairman Dhandev Mahanta told The Telegraph today that they would bring up the issue during the annual conference of the council to be held in Pune, Maharashtra, from November 5 to 7.

He said Seba would compare its marking system with other state boards during the conference to assess its merits and demerits.

"I do not want to claim that Seba's marking system is perfect. It is a fact that a section of examiners is conservative while giving marks. But it is also true that many criticisms against the marking system are baseless and unwarranted. We firmly believe that giving high marks in exams does not necessarily imply quality education. All such issues will be discussed by Seba officials with their counterparts from other states during the conference in Pune," Mahanta said.

The council provides a common platform for mutual consultation to reinforce the quality of school education.

It also provides support to its member boards to bring about changes in various fields, including examination reforms.

At present, an examinee appears in the matric or Class X examination in Assam for a total of 600 marks while the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducts the final exam at the same level for 500 marks.

Seba conducts the matric exam for five core subjects - English, maths, general science, social science and major Indian languages (MIL). The marks scored in the elective subject (sixth paper, which is selected by the candidates from a list of optional subjects) are also added to the final score.

There has been differences in opinion over the total marks awarded in the matric exams.

While parents often say the total marks should be reduced to reduce the burden of study on their children and enable them to score high marks like their CBSE counterparts, academicians and different organisations favour an increase in total marks by making history and geography compulsory subjects.

Seba last year proposed to hold the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) examination on the CBSE model by including marks of continuous comprehensive evaluation (CCE) tests held across the year in the final results.

But the proposal still remains on paper because of different hurdles.

"I am optimistic that by participating in the conference, we will be able to bring about many desired and quality changes in Seba's functioning," Mahanta said.