Petitioners not entitled to claim detailed scorecard of all Class 10 students of school: CBSE to SC

NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has told the Supreme Court that a detailed scorecard of the entire class cannot be provided to some Class 10 pass-out students who have alleged that an Odisha-based school denied it as it had to "conceal its malpractices" in awarding marks.

In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the CBSE said that a three-member enquiry committee had concluded in its August last year inquiry report that the school had prepared the result of class 10 students as per the tabulation policy. The matter came up for hearing on Friday before a bench of Justices AM Khanwilkar and CT Ravikumar, which posted it for hearing after two weeks. The plea, filed by 24 students who have passed out class 10 from the school in Odisha, has sought a direction to the CBSE to review and declare their result afresh based on the board's evaluation policy of May 1, 2021, after collecting the correct record from the school.

The petition, filed through advocate Ravi Prakash, has urged the top court to direct an inquiry against the school "for illegally demanding money and putting undue pressure to take admission in class 11 in the same school to get good scores in class 10". In an affidavit, filed by the controller of examinations, the CBSE has said that the petitioners are not entitled to claim the attendance sheet of the entire class 10 for each examination and each subject.

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“I, therefore, submit that the petitioners are entitled to know their internal assessment marks, the highest average in the preceding three years and the marks assigned by the result committee to them, from their school but that does not mean that they can claim the attendance sheet, report of result committee and detailed scorecard of all the students of class X of their school,” the controller of examinations has said in the affidavit.

It further said that the petitioners had written a letter to the CBSE in August last year claiming that the school had reduced their marks in class 10 and poor-performing students were awarded very good marks. The affidavit said when the issue was published as a news item in a local newspaper in August 2021, the Odisha State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (OSCPCR) had taken suo moto cognizance and directed the board to conduct an inquiry into the matter. It said an enquiry committee, consisting of three members, was constituted to enquire and submit a report.

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“The inquiry report dated August 11, 2021, did not support the said contention of the petitioners, and the copy of the inquiry report was also forwarded to the chairperson, OSCPCR…,” it said. “It was concluded in the inquiry report that by going through all the activities of result committee in respect of class X 2021 of aforesaid school, the committee was of the opinion that the school prepared the result of class X students as per the tabulation policy, class-X 2021 and subsequent FAQs issued by the CBSE,” it said.

The affidavit said the petitioners have sought a direction in their plea to provide a rationale document, attendance sheet of each examination and each subject conducted by the school, report of result committee, and detailed scorecard of all Class 10 students which had to be prepared by the school in terms of the evaluation policy of May 1, 2021. “In this regard, I submit that the petitioners are not entitled to claim the attendance sheet of entire class X for each examination and each subject,” it said, adding the petitioners are not entitled to claim detailed scorecard prepared by the school for the entire class.

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The plea has said that the CBSE's Class 10 board examinations were cancelled in April last year amid the COVID-19 pandemic and in May 2021, the assessment policy was notified by the board. It has said an exemplary cost may be imposed on the school for causing mental trauma and harassment to the petitioner students. It alleged that marks of students, who were denied to take admission in class 11 in the same school, were illegally deducted. "The arbitrary action of the respondent school is in clear violation of Article 14 (equality before law) read with Article 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution of India," it said.