Taking responsibility must not remain mere words
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Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has announced that he is taking full responsibility for the complaints related to the newly introduced 'On-Screen Marking' (OSM) method used to determine the results of the Class 12 examination. This time, teachers evaluated answer scripts after they had been scanned and displayed on computer screens. For this purpose, the answer sheets of 1.7 million students — amounting to approximately 400 million pages — were scanned. Normally, such digitalisation is expected to make the evaluation process easier and more accurate. However, the outcome of the CBSE evaluation was quite the opposite. Students were severely disadvantaged because answer sheets were not scanned properly, and marks were not awarded for correct answers. Many high-performing students saw a substantial drop in their scores. The flaws in the digitalisation process became evident during re-evaluation. Many students who paid the prescribed fee did not receive copies of their answer sheets. In several cases, students were instead sent answer sheets belonging to other candidates. There were also instances in which students who had correctly answered a question across two pages were awarded marks only for what had been written on the first page.
The authorities explain that this is the first time such a comprehensive assessment method has been implemented and that the difficulties faced by students are the result of technical glitches. Some may consider that explanation reasonable and credible. However, for the lakhs of students awaiting higher education opportunities after 14 years of schooling, including two years of pre-school, as well as for their parents and teachers, this can only be viewed as a grave betrayal. This is especially true in a system where even a difference of a single mark can have a decisive impact on a student's prospects for higher education.
The minister has accused an opposition leader, who has been protesting against these mistakes, of politicising the issue and increasing the mental stress of students. He has also stated that experts from IIT Madras and IIT Kanpur have been assigned to resolve the technical and server-related issues affecting the portal. There is an important question that the minister needs to answer here: who was so determined to implement, in haste, a system that should have been introduced only after its technical preparedness had been thoroughly verified, thereby subjecting students to an ordeal and unending mental distress after their examinations?
A student from Delhi, Vedant, was branded a “Pakistani” after he shared on social media that he had applied for a copy of his Physics answer sheet but had received another student's paper instead. The remark came from a news anchor of Doordarshan, the country's official broadcaster. Attempting to silence and ridicule a student who highlights a serious error committed by the authorities by branding him a “Pakistani” is not a case of politicisation; it amounts to criminal treason.
The government, which has been left embarrassed by the botched conduct of the NEET examination, has yet to apologise to students for that failure. At least five students reportedly took their own lives under the mental stress caused by the cancellation of the examination following the question paper leak. The government alone is responsible for the deaths of those students. Meanwhile, another instance of mismanagement has come to light. As a result, students across the country are enduring intense anxiety and emotional distress. Whoever has made students feel that, no matter how hard they work, the system and the country will ultimately fail them is committing a grave injustice to the nation's future. Will the minister or the examination authorities be willing to take responsibility for this and offer an apology?