Many students who were awarded Board examination marks through internal assessment are highly dissatisfied with the scores and are agitating, along with their parents, at their schools.
Owing to Covid-19 restrictions, Board exams were cancelled earlier this year and students of Class X and XII were given marks on the basis of earlier assessments in previous classes and some internal marking system. But when the marks were finally handed over to the students, there were was an uproar.
Parents and students of National English School in Baguiati protested outside the school on July 26. As many as 50 students and their parents demanded a meeting with the principal to talk about their dissatisfaction over the internal marking system.
Shrishti Mata, one of the students of the school, said: “As per my internal assessment and previous report cards, I should get an aggregate of 95 to 96 per cent. But I have been given 87 per cent. This is not fair and I don’t know how this has happened. Something is definitely wrong. Not just me, there are students in my class who should be getting 95 per cent and above. But they have all got below 85 per cent. They are all good students and have never scored below 90 per cent in any class. Then how can the average be less than 85 per cent?”
Not just students, parents have also found other errors in the marksheets. “My daughter had scored 98 per cent in English. But the marks have been entered as 89 per cent. This is definitely an error made by the school authorities. They are the ones who sent the marks to the board. How can they make such silly mistakes?” said Soma Saha, a resident of Baguiati.
Mousumi Saha, principal of National English School, said: “We have requested the parents to calm down. Yes, there may have been an error and it will be looked into. I have asked the guardians to submit written applications and mention exactly how many marks were allocated for each subject. We will take this up with the Board. All applications will be looked into individually.”
It’s not just private schools. Some students of government schools have also complained of being given lower marks. At BD Block’s Bidhannagar Government High School, “four or five students” have applied for marks revision. “For one of them, a Class X student, it was indeed a clerical error on our part and we have forwarded the correction to the authorities. She is a sincere student and after revision, may even be a topper,” said head master Reyaz Ahmed.
Matters are not as smooth in other schools. “When it comes to internal assessment one expects teachers to be sympathetic towards the children since this year has been a chaotic year. But the opposite has happened. The girls in my class have got very low marks. I don’t know which college will grant us admission under such circumstances,” said Sreemita Sarkar, a student of Deshapriya Balika Vidyamandir in Rabindra Palli, Kestopur. “We have met the principal but even if marks are reviewed college admission dates will long be over by then,” she added.
Some students from Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls’ School complained of similar fate. As many as 50 of them and their parents gheraoed the school, seeking a review of marks. Saheli Chakraborty, a Class X student, said: “There is no Plus II facility in my school. But my internal marks are so low that I am not even able to collect admission forms from other schools for Class XI. Which school will take me in if their cut-off is high? I’ve got 75 per cent. That is too low it seems to take admission into any other school. But my internal marks were much higher.”
Authorities at Deshapriya Balika Vidyamandir and Ramkrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls’ School have assured agitated guardians of a second look at the marking system. However, with college admissions fast approaching the deadline, the question remains how long their wait is going to be.
Are students you know happy with their Board exam results this year? Write to The Telegraph Salt Lake, 6 Prafulla Sarkar Street, Calcutta 700001 or email to saltlake@abp.in
