The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) wants to end the moderation of Class XII board exam marks by all school boards across the country.
The CBSE feels liberal marking has led to high cut-offs in higher educational institutions.The CBSE’s governing board held a discussion on the issue at its meeting on Tuesday and recommended that the Centre persuade all school boards to end the moderation policy.
“The ministry may call a meeting of all school boards in an effort to reach a consensus on the issue,” a member of the CBSE governing board told DH, requesting anonymity.
Moderation of board marks, which is done to bring parity in students’ scores in view of the subjectivity involved in the evaluation of their papers, has been a matter of concern in the academic circles as it is believed to have created an alarming situation.
“The system must be brought to an end. School boards are competing with each other and giving inflated marks to safeguard the interests of their students against any disadvantage that they may have to face due to liberal marking policy being followed across the country. Ending the system by the CBSE alone will not make any significant difference.
It has to be done by all school boards,” another CBSE governing board member said. Though the liberal marking policy adopted by the school boards across the country aims at dealing with the element of subjectivity involved in evaluation, it is resulting in higher educational institutions keeping high cut-off marks for admissions to various undergraduate programmes. “The liberal marking policy is leading to unhealthy competition,” a member said.
Three-language formula
The governing board also recommended implementation of the three-language formula for students of Class IX and Class X in CBSE schools.
“I am not aware of this recommendation. I will take a suitable decision on the CBSE recommendation after it comes to me. But let me assure you, we do not intend to impose any language on anyone. Except Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, all other states are implementing the three-language formula in their schools. The status quo will be maintained,” Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar said on Wednesday.