HYDERABAD: The MHRD’s instruction to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) to come up with a solution to resolve the marks disparity awarded by it and the Boards of other states has left academicians and experts in the city bewildered.
While acknowledging that disparities do exist and adversely affect all sections of students, there is a lack of clarity on how the CBSE plans to achieve parity among Boards that are heterogeneous and not just have different curricula but also a difference in approach towards education.
With the marking disparity being pegged anywhere between 85-95 per cent, educationists feel the recent change in the CBSE bylaws has further made it difficult to do away with the incongruity in the marking schemes by placing syllabus and examination in the CBSE purview and other modalities pertaining to marking, NOC and other aspects with the respective state Education departments.
“By dividing the responsibilities, the bylaws have further ended up widening the disparity rather than bridging it,” said Anjali Razdan, principal of P Obul Reddy School, Jubilee Hills.
She added, “There is a need to a central controlling system if any change has to be brought about in the marking scenario, particularly in removing the disparity in marking pattern.”
It has been pointed out that marking pattern of the SSC and CBSE Boards is another reason for the disparity. While SSC students struggle to secure high percentage, for CSBE Board it is easier since 70 per cent marks are with school while Board examination constitutes only 30 per cent of the marks.
V Shanti, principal, St Peter’s Grammar School, Bowenpally recommended keeping only 20 per cent marks with schools. “Keeping more marks with teachers is unfair as it gives an advantage to the CBSE school students when they seek admissions in undergraduate courses,” she said and added that there is also a need to do away with semester system in CBSE.
“Students in senior secondary classes can’t be made to study only three lessons of four units. They can’t fare well in competitive examination because they do not have in-depth knowledge,” she said.
Others like Nagati Narayana, convenor of Centre for Educational Research and Analysis is of the view that parity in marking among different boards may not possible.
Calling the directive ridiculous, he said that there are 36 examination boards including CBSE.
“Each has its own curricula and method of awarding of marks. How is it possible to bring homogeneity in this?” he said.