Many lose marks as ‘reference year’ rule comes into play

Nirupa.Vatyam@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  31.07.2021 

Class toppers were at the receiving end this year as the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) asked schools to consider the performance of students in one of the last three academic years as a reference year while allotting marks. As a result, schools could award marks in a range (above 90% - 95.5%) only to a few students, while many deserving candidates felt undone.

Principals of city schools said they had to revise marks of students two to three times before the board accepted final results. “We had 42 students who were getting above 95%. We had to bring their marks down, as only 27 students had got above 95% in 2018, which was our reference year,” said Latha Shankar, principal, P Obul Reddy Public School.

She said it was toppers and academicallyweak students who were at a loss this year. “Likewise, we had to put about10 students in the 40-50 range even though three or four students could have gone to a higher range,” she said.

“If not for the pandemic, some of our students would have secured one or two per cent higher marks. It is unfair for a few students, but many also benefited as they were awarded more marks. Overall, we are happy with the result,” said Narsimha Reddy, principal, The Hyderabad Public School, Ramanthapur.

D Usha Reddy, principal and CEO, Meridian School for Boys and Girls, said it was disheartening to note that students who performed extremely well in the current year had to have their marks pruned. “Marks of deserving six to seven students had to be reduced.”

Gautham Singh, a student of Obul Reddy, who secured 99.96 percentile in JEE Mains, said: “Definitely, I would have got more marks if exams were conducted. But I don’t want to appear for exams at a later stage as these marks will not be considered for IIT counselling or I might lose out on getting a seat in a foreign university.” Gautham’s school had to reduce his computer marks by five to bring his percentage down.