To hasten board exam results, state decides teachers will correct papers under supervision at assessment centres
The state education board has tried several means of ensuring that SSC results are announced on time, including increasing the number of examiners and moderators. However, this has made little difference. as results still take 80 days to be released.
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This year, with the introduction of a new re-examination session in July, the board has introduced a new assessment method. Instead of the usual, where examiners would carry bundles of answer sheets back to their homes, the board has now asked examiners to gather at allotted centres in the city where they have to check a designated number of answer sheets within a stipulated time-frame.
Boardspeak
"We realised that teachers end up taking more time to assess papers when they take the answer sheets home, where they may have household work. So, we have decided to designate assessment centers where teachers will be able to sit and concentrate on assessment of answer sheets," said S Chandekar, acting chairman of the Mumbai divisional board, Vashi.
In the Mumbai region (including Thane and Raigad), five such assessment centers have been decided upon. "We decided to implement this new assessment method in this re-examination session since there's a small number of students who appeared for the same, and it seems to be working well," he added. However, many examiners have refused to check answer sheets in the re-examination session, complaining of poor compensation.
Show us the money
Examiners are paid Rs 4.25 per answer sheet for a three-hour paper, Rs 2.50 per answer sheet for a two-hour paper. "Why should we put in so many hours for such a measly sum? Many teachers get away with not assessing as many answer sheets as others, and no one ever pulls them up," said an examiner.
Many also highlighted the increased burden of work for examiners and moderators, especially since the number of exam sessions in an academic year has increased, with the July re-examination session being introduced this year.
"That adds to our school work, which is already too much thanks to the Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation introduced with RTE ," said Govindrajan Srinivasan, a teacher at Hansraj Morarji School in Andheri.
Senior board members stated that reforms are underway. "Payment as well as workload of examiners and moderators is being discussed at the government level and a positive reply is awaited soon," said a senior official from the Maharashtra State Board for Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE), Pune.
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