POV: OFF WITH BOARD EXAMS?

There has recently been much debate in the media over our examination system. The reason, of course, is that some Class 10/ 12 papers of a national board were leaked and some 2.8 million students will have to appear for examination at a later date. Turning this into a political issue serves no purpose.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has earned the reputation of conducting Class 10/ 12 and other professional examinations across India and abroad impeccably for decades. It is not only a national board but to some extent a trendsetter for other state boards to follow.

But then there is a proverb, very apt in the present context, that ‘nothing fails like success’. Because success sometimes brings complacency, negligence and arrogance in the system. I have a hunch that faith in the infallibility of the system may have led to this unfortunate crisis. It is an offline examination and when the board is conducting a mammoth exercise of this magnitude, certain ageold practices and beliefs must not be tinkered with. A good change is always welcome and is a part of the dynamics of life, but when we are handling huge variables (students) over such a geographical expanse, all the pros and cons of the situation must be well thought out.

The CBSE has a unique position and must not be equated with other state boards. It pioneered the move to introduce multiple sets of question papers in most subjects. It means using different sets of question papers at an equal level of difficulty to curb cheating, mass copying and other unfair practices. It also means that students are using different sets of question papers with varying codes in the same examination hall. It worked very well and by using moderation in a scientific manner, the credibility, validity and reliability of the examination was maintained. Many state boards subsequently followed this practice and some state boards are still using it.

The practice was abruptly discontinued from 2018, the intention perhaps being to eliminate the ‘spiking’ of marks in the guise of moderation due to the varied difficulty levels of question papers. The intention is absolutely bona fide but the spiking issue could have been handled differently. The practice of using multiple question papers should not be compromised by concerns over the geographical reach and diversity of student population. Had there been multiple sets of question papers, leakage at one place would not have affected the entire student population and the severity of the problem would have been much reduced.

With the increase in the number of schools and the student population, the problems in the management of examinations have increased manifold. But the board’s approach seems to be constrained by habit. Though it ensures checks and balances at every stage in the examination process, unscrupulous elements are always on the lookout for an opportunity to break the system. And in all such situations, there is an element of ‘insider’ complicity—an extended network of people directly or indirectly associated with the management of examinations. Weeding out such elements is necessary.

We need to revisit how papers are distributed, stored and collected by exam centre personnel. The storage point cannot be any other apart from nationalised banks. We also need to strictly ensure the mandatory provision of the sealed question paper envelope being opened by a threemember committee at the examination centre.

Another possibility is to use an online mechanism to send the question paper directly to the centre. This seems fine on paper, but considering the grassroots reality, it may well create more confusion and chaos.

Fundamentally, the existing system is fine. Technological misuse is a challenge but not an insurmountable one. We have the necessary competence to conduct such an examination smoothly and successfully. The leak is a oneoff incident and we should not pass judgement on the basis of such an aberration.

The practice of multiple sets of question papers was abruptly discontinued in 2018, perhaps to avoid the spiking of marks. Had it continued, the effects of the leakage would have been limited