At a meeting today, the board's governing body took up a proposal to discontinue the facility as more and more candidates were applying for re-evaluation, making it difficult for the country's largest school board, two members said.
Most members spoke in favour of discontinuing the system, started in 2014, but no decision could be reached. Sources said the board might set up a committee to examine the proposal.
A few thousand students had applied for re-evaluation when the provision was introduced for 12 of the 187 subjects the CBSE offers as part of efforts to make the marking system more transparent. The number increased in 2015 and crossed a lakh this year.
Ameeta Mullah Wattal, principal of Springdales School here, said some students were able to increase their marks but re-evaluation of so many papers was becoming difficult.
"There is only 10 days' time for re-evaluation of the papers. I think we have to go beyond the marks system and take a re-look at comprehensive examination reforms," Wattal said.
Wattal is a member of the governing body but could not attend the meeting today.
Till 2014, the board had a system that allowed students to apply for re-totalling their marks. In 2014, it allowed students to also apply for a copy of their evaluated answer papers and challenge the evaluation up to 10 questions by paying Rs 200 for each.
The challenged questions would be re-evaluated by another teacher and the marks awarded could be enhanced or decreased, as the case may be.
The added facility of re-evaluation was started in select subjects, including physics, chemistry and mathematics, since the IITs have ruled that top 20 percentile holders of each board or those who secure over 75 per cent marks are eligible to apply for BTech seats.
The NITs give 40 per cent weightage to board marks and 60 per cent to the JEE-Main entrance marks in selecting students for BTech seats.
Wattal said the obsession with marks was not correct and the entire system of exams and evaluation should be debated across the country.
A teacher of a school here, however, said at least 10 students from her school had improved their performance after re-evaluation. "The system of re-evaluation addresses the concerns of students. It should not be discontinued."
Draft policy
The government today made public a truncated version of a draft education policy that dropped controversial suggestions like banning student groups on campuses but introduced a new provision for a study to prevent outsider activities.
The human resource development ministry tonight uploaded a summarised 43-page version of the 230-page draft education policy prepared by a five-member panel headed by retired bureaucrat T.S.R. Subramanian.
The ministry's version - called "Some Inputs for Draft National Education Policy" - does not carry a recommendation of the panel that student groups that are explicitly based on caste, religion or any political party should be abjured.
The inputs uploaded today said the "government recognises and will encourage the positive role played by students' unions in furthering the interests of democracy and strengthening the democratic systems, governance and processes as well as debates, discussions and pluralism of thoughts".
The ministry's inputs said disruptive activities on campuses were led by outsiders. "A study will be conducted to prevent outsiders and those who have ceased to be students from playing an active role in students' politics..." the inputs said.
The Telegraph, Calcutta.
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