The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is in a soup, again. This time it is regarding grace marks awarded to students for a "tricky" question in the Class 12 mathematics question paper.
According to a circular from the CBSE, a six-mark question from the chapter on linear programming could be perceived in two different ways, leading to two different results. Hence, the students should be awarded full marks, the CBSE in its corrigendum dated 30 March said, reported The Indian Express.
Justifying the decision, Controller of Examination Sanyum Bharadwaj said, while the question number 29 does not have a technical issue, it can be interpreted in two ways.
However, not all students are happy with the board's decision to give away six marks, considering students get admissions into colleges based on Class 12 marks.
The notice was given to the evaluators on the second day of the evaluation process, while mostly such information is given on day one to keep uniform marking scheme.
350, 80 or 60? Teachers Disagree on the Correct Answer
The disgruntlement is among the teachers as well, as some claim that the question was straight-forward and the students should not have faced any issue.
Pushp Vihar, a mathematics teacher from Amity International School said, “Students who have read the questions thoroughly will get the solution of the question as 350, but others will get 80 or 60,” reported The Indian Express.
However, Maths teacher from Genesis Global School, Noida, Ramneek Chawla, believes there is only one correct answer, which is 350. Giving grace marks is not the right decision, he said.
Other evaluators claim that the benefit might not reach all students as the notice was delayed.
Meanwhile, the CBSE said the board has a well-established policy to address anomalies in question papers, if any, as per the advice of aubject experts.
Further the board said that the decision is taken keeping in mind the genuine interest of the students and that it doesn't put anyone in a disadvantageous position.
(With inputs from The Indian Express.)
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