In Gujarat, OMR heroes turn out to be zeroes

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Results of 850 Class X students were cancelled after authorities found major discrepancies between their OMR and descriptive exam results
  • The students had scored 40-49 marks out of 50 in the objective question paper but scored only 0-3 m
Results Of 850 Class X Students Cancelled
In a shocker, results of 850 class X students were cancelled by Gujarat Secondary and HIgher Secondary Education Board (GSHSEB) after authorities found major discrepancies their OMR and descriptive exam results. These students had scored 40-49 marks out of 50 in the objective question paper but scored only 0-3 marks in descriptive papers raising strong suspicion that mass copying had happened.Startlingly, the suspicion was confirmed when these students, called in batches of 100 each for questioning, could not even do basic math like adding 2+2+2 or giving correct answer to simple single-digit multiplication.Majority of the students co uld not write correct spelling of `cricket’ and drew a blank when asked `What is the capital of Gujarat?’ “Results of 850 students from 10-odd centres in Dahod, Mahisagar, Tapi and parts of Saurashtra have been cancelled. Siddhartha While there is no proof of mass copying, our questioning of the students was a huge shocker as the SSC students could not give answer to basic questions which a grade 2-5 student can easily tell,“ said RR Thakkar, vicechairman of GSHSEB.

Thakkar said that the students were first asked to answer questions asked in the OMR test where they scored brilliantly . “The students could not answer and gave lame excuse that they had learnt by rote and forgotten as three months had passed till they wrote the exam.“

Curiously , while the stu dent’s poor le vel of educa tion pro mpted aut horities to take action, how did the students selecti vely write correct answer remains a mystery . “All CCTV footage was checked and there is no hint of mass copying,“ said board member K A Butani.

Ironically , authorities suspect that teachers in connivance with principals may have dictated answers to objective questions from outside classrooms to evade being caught on CCTV fearing grant cut if the result of schools is less than 30%. Extra vigilance may be ordered at these centers next year.

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