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The Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed concern over students’ dissatisfaction with the Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) digital evaluation system and sought the assistance of Solicitor General Tushar Mehta while hearing a public interest litigation seeking reforms to the on-screen marking (OSM) process.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant observed that there appeared to be considerable frustration among students over the evaluation system. The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana said there seemed to be systemic issues in the digital assessment process, The New Indian Express reported.
Justice Bagchi told the solicitor general that the court was seeking the Centre’s assistance in a non-adversarial manner, adding that certain problems in the system needed to be addressed. The bench directed the Centre to submit a status report on the matter.
Responding to the court, Mehta said that while most of the individual marksheet discrepancies highlighted in the petition had been resolved, the government was treating the broader systemic concerns seriously. He informed the court that a one-member commission headed by S. Radha Chauhan had been constituted to review the evaluation process and recommend necessary reforms.
The solicitor general said the government was not viewing the matter adversarially and that the committee was already examining the grievances raised by students.
The bench asked Mehta to inform it about the steps being taken by the CBSE and posted the matter for further hearing next week.
The PIL was filed by Rakesh Binjola through advocate Laxmikant Matadan Shukla. It seeks directions to the Centre and the CBSE to frame regulations for conducting Board examinations through the OSM evaluation system and to constitute a high-powered committee to oversee and implement the proposed reforms.
The petitioner has also sought relaxation in the minimum qualifying marks for students who have already secured provisional admissions or cleared entrance examinations, along with exemption from the 75 per cent or other minimum Class 12 marks requirement prescribed for admission to various courses.