Schools complain of errors in evaluation of board exam answer sheets of classes 5, 8 and 9 in Karnataka

The board exams for classes 5, 8 and 9 were completed on March 28. The Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) completed the evaluation of answer sheets on April 2.

Many errors have been found in the evaluation of answer sheets of the board examination (Summative Assessment-2) for classes 5, 8 and 9. After completion of evaluation, some private schools alleged poor quality of work and of incorrect totaling of marks.

The board exams for classes 5, 8 and 9 were completed on March 28. The Karnataka State Examination and Assessment Board (KSEAB) completed the evaluation of answer sheets on April 2. Scores of the students have to be entered in the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS) followed by transfer of the answer sheets to the respective schools before announcement of the results on April 10.

Some schools have complained of detecting errors in the evaluation of the answer sheets. They included improper evaluation, interchange of answer sheets, some pages not being evaluated, not awarding marks for correct answers, and errors in totaling marks.

“We received the answer scripts of class 5 on April 5. The evaluation work is of poor quality. In some papers, the total (marks) is wrong, in some papers, a few sheets have not been evaluated, in some papers, right answers have been marked as wrong. If this is the case, what was the need to conduct board exams?” said the chairperson of a private school at R.T. Nagar in Bengaluru.

Shashikumar D., General Secretary, Associated Managements of Schools in Karnataka (KAMS), said, “The evaluation of the answer sheets of classes 5, 8 and 9 has been completed. The answer sheets have been sent to the respective educational institutions. However, many errors were found in the evaluation. Even children who were good in academics have failed in class 9. I have received information, along with documents from many schools, in this regard. If a child fails in class 9, will their answer sheets be re-examined? No clarification has come from the board. Schools are confused. These issues will be brought to the notice of higher authorities in the department.”

H.N. Gopalakrishna, Director of KSEAB, told The Hindu, “The evaluation of answer sheets of classes 5, 8 and 9 has been done at the cluster level under the jurisdiction of the Block Education Officer (BEO). Therefore, the BEOs concerned are responsible for these mistakes. If there are any errors in the evaluation of the answer sheets, the BEO concerned may be approached. We will give direction to all BEOs in this regard.”