On behalf of several aggrieved students from the state, who wished for a 50:50 evaluation in the CBSE Class X and XII Board exams for Terms I and II each, the Odisha Abhibhabak Mahasangha (OAM), a parents’ association from the state had approached the Orissa High Court on August 8. Today, September 26, the second hearing of the matter took place.
The students were unhappy with CBSE’s marking scheme, according to which a weightage of 30 per cent was given to Term I and 70 per cent weightage to Term II. They claimed that they would get better scores if they are marked on a 50:50 criterion. “The Court was on Resolution today as a Bar member died. So the proceedings could not take place as planned. However, the Court has given time to the CBSE to file their counter case,” informed Advocate Adisha Mohanty, who is appearing on behalf of OAM and the students.
She additionally stated that though they appealed for the next hearing to take place as soon as possible, due to the upcoming Dussehra holidays, the next hearing would take place on October 11. “Since the matter is complicated, the hearing would go up to one or two more dates,” she said. “Much time has already elapsed and many students have already opted for admissions, but we are hoping that the verdict comes in favour of the affected students,” she added.
The advocate informed EdexLive that they have already submitted the results of a survey they conducted, as per the HC’s direction in the previous hearing, which took place on August 12. The survey was to determine how many students are actually affected by the CBSE’s marking system. “According to the online survey, about 100 students from Odisha were affected, but about 2,000 students from other states responded to be affected,” Advocate Adisha said.
“We also physically visited 5 schools, as a part of the survey, and it was found that about 5 per cent of the students were affected, while 95 per cent reported being satisfied with their results,” she added. “The number may not be much, but we want the Court to rule in favour of the affected students. But CBSE’s position has also got to be considered,” she stated further.
Meanwhile, Basudev Bhatta, Chairman of OAM, said, “The court seems to be convinced that the CBSE has made a mistake. First, it brought out a notice on April 5 that the 30:70 marking scheme wouldn’t be considered, but then they marked using that very scheme. However, we are waiting for the ex-party hearing (the hearing in which CBSE would present its side of the argument).” Roshan Kumar, General Secretary, Bihar AISU (All India Students' Union) agreed. “We (students) are waiting for CBSE’s response,” he said, in a conversation with EdexLive.
