Board expose

By Yogesh Avasthi, Ahmedabad Mirror | Oct 25, 2016, http://www1.ahmedabadmirror.com/ahmedabad/cover-story/Board-expose/articleshow/55038279.cms

Erring teachers, schools to be named and shamed in latest edition of GSHSEB magazine. This is to make teachers aware how their small mistakes can cause big problems for students To bring in accountability and do away with errors in calculation of marks in Board examinations, Gujarat Secondary and Higher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) has decided to expose the erring examiners.

After penalising hundreds of teachers who had erred while checking the answer sheets of Board students, GSHSEB will now publish their names along with their schools’ in the latest monthly magazine, Shikshan Ane Parikshan, that is circulated among state board schools and to subscribers. The magazine will be published on October 28, as per a Board official. In its previous edition, the magazine had published how board officials had detected discrepancies in Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) and the subjective paper.

In an article, former officer on special duty (OSD) M Arif Khan M Pathan stated that invigilators in charge of three centres were evasive when questioned about the inconsistencies. One supervisor said that students did not have enough time to answer the subjective part as most of their time was spent in solving the MCQ. This exposed his lie as time allotted for both sections is separate. Board officials said this was being done to stem the errors creeping in answer sheets and holding teachers accountable for their mistakes, while making students aware that their issues are being addressed.

HOW THINGS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER

GSHSEB officials had issued notices to 1,100 teachers of class 10 and class 12 (general stream and science) after mistakes were found in the answer sheets. As per information provided by the Board, 772 teachers were fined. These included 314 in SSC, 361 in class 12 (General stream) and 97 in class 12 (Science stream). These teachers had erred in calculation of marks ranging from 1 mark to 22.5 marks. The teachers had to pay a price for their mistakes: Rs 2.50 lakh was collected from 361 teachers of General stream, while Rs 64,875 was collected from 314 teachers of SSC.

Around 5,000 teachers were hired to check 32 lakh answer sheets of students. They were paid Rs 6 for checking each answer sheet. Teachers get around 20 to 25 days to assess the papers. They have to check again for errors and crosscheck the copies. The entire process takes around 40 to 45 days. It had been found that some 20 to 25 per cent of teachers committed errors in counting of marks. Not only does it waste time, but also manpower and money, while putting at stake the future of students, the board officials had found.

HOW THEY DETECTED THE DISCREPANCY

The results of more than 400 SSC students, who appeared in March 201, was initially held back and they were later declared failed. It was found that there was inconsistency in their MCQ and subjective sections. They had done exceedingly well in MCQ while scoring poorly in subjective part. These students had appeared for the exam at Lambadiya (Sabarkantha) (128 students), Choila (Aravalli) (162 students) and Bhikapur (Chhota Udepur) (178 students) centres. They evaded being caught on CCTV cameras after it was found that supervisors standing outside the classroom, near the window dictated the answers. As many as 418 students appeared for the exam again in one subject, while 443 appeared in two subjects in the first week of July.

When results were announced on July 26, 2016, only two out of over 400 students, who had appeared in supplementary examinations after being suspected of cheating in March 2016 exam, passed. GSHSEB Chairperson A J Shah said, “The purpose of doing this is to get better results. This will highlight how small mistakes of teachers can cause problems for students. Publishing of names will raise awareness among teachers who will be more careful next time. “If a mistake is committed by a student, we take strict action against them. Similarly, the teacher should be held accountable, if he/she commits mistakes.”

Rajesh Upadhyay, president of Ahmedabad Higher Secondary Teachers’ Association, said, “The teachers who come for checking the papers are from grant-in aid schools. Those from self-financed schools don’t come. Publishing their names will demoralize them and they might stop from checking papers. This can delay board results. Moreover, the Board asks one subject teacher to check other papers.”