Supreme Court Flags 'Frustration' in CBSE Digital Marking System, Seeks Govt Response
The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed concern over alleged irregularities in the Central Board of Secondary Education's (CBSE) on-screen marking (OSM) system for Class 12 answer sheets, observing that students were facing considerable 'frustration' due to problems in the digital evaluation process.
Hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant sought the assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta and asked the Centre to apprise the court of the steps being taken to address the issue. 'Look at the amount of frustration of young children,' Kant remarked. The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, noted that there appeared to be systemic 'creeping problems' in the digital evaluation process.
Justice Bagchi told the Solicitor General, 'We are seeking your assistance, not in an adversarial way. There are some problems,' while asking the Centre to file a status report. The matter has been listed for further hearing next week.
The PIL, filed by Rakesh Binjola through advocate Laxmikant Matadan Shukla, seeks the constitution of a high-powered committee to supervise and implement reforms in CBSE's on-screen marking system. It also urges the Centre and the CBSE to frame regulations governing the conduct of board examinations through the OSM system.
The OSM system is a digital evaluation process in which teachers assess scanned copies of physical answer sheets on a computer instead of marking the original scripts manually. The petition also seeks relaxation in the minimum qualifying marks for Class 12 students whose results may have been affected by alleged discrepancies in the evaluation process. It requests relief for students who have already secured provisional admission or qualified entrance examinations but may fail to meet eligibility criteria because of disputed board marks. In addition, the plea seeks exemption from the minimum Class 12 marks requirement—including the 75 per cent eligibility criterion prescribed for admission to certain higher education programmes—for students affected by the alleged flaws in the evaluation process.
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta informed the court that while most of the individual marksheet discrepancies highlighted in the petition had been resolved, the government was treating the larger systemic concerns seriously. He told the bench that a one-member commission headed by S. Radha Chauhan had already been constituted to examine the OSM evaluation system and recommend reforms. 'We are not taking this adversely,' Mehta said, adding that the committee was examining the grievances raised in the petition and would suggest systemic improvements.
The court directed the Solicitor General to place before it the steps taken by the CBSE and the government and scheduled the matter for hearing next week.
