‘HRD won’t intervene in moderation policy row’

HRD minister Prakash Javadekar on Sunday categorically denied his ministry intervening in the ongoing moderation policy row and said any “change” should not be “abruptly” implemented in middle of academic session.

Moderation policy refers to a practice in which students get extra marks in subjects regarded ‘unusually difficult’, or if there have been differences in the sets of question papers.

“We will not intervene in the moderation policy issue. It is an academic call which the boards need to take,” Javadekar told PTI in an interview.

The minister’s comments came against the backdrop of an order by Delhi high c ourt directing CBSE to continue with the moderation policy, which was scrapped last month after CBSE along with 32 other boards formed a consensus on the issue.

CBSE was earlier believed to have been considering challenging the high court order but was advised against it by legal counsel that moving the Supreme Court may be counter-productive and could also delay results.

While CBSE declared its results for Class 12 on Sunday after following the moderation policy, there is no clarity about the fate of the six state boards -Rajasthan, Karnataka, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Haryana — which announced their result prior to the Delhi HC order. PTI