Methodology for Class 12 results

Panel outlines two sets of guiding principles

The School Education Department has issued a government order detailing the methodology to calculate marks for Class 12 students of State board schools due to the cancellation of board exams. The G.O., issued by School Education Secretary Kakarla Usha, said a report submitted by an expert committee had stated that the methodology to arrive at subject-wise marks of the candidates should rest on two sets of guiding principles. Under the first — transparency, non-arbitrariness and objectivity — the committee called for consistent past performances to set the benchmark upon which any extrapolation method is based, adding that there should be no subjectivity as far as the benchmarks are concerned. Secondly, calling for fairness and equity, the committee said the opportunity structure that would have been available to students in pre-COVID-19 times should guide the scoring methodology. Schools have also been asked to factor in the parity between candidates studying in various streams.