Science exam goof-up: 300 students got one answer booklet instead of two

Over 300 SSC (Class X) students at an exam centre in Khed taluka wrote the Science paper in one answer booklet instead of two as the centre invigilators were unaware that from this year 60-mark question paper was divided into two sections and were to be answered in two separate booklets.

The papers for these students will now be evaluated under the centralised system used by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Examination (MSBSHSE) for minority media students.

This is the first year when Science paper is for 100 marks instead of 150. This academic session (2011-12) onwards, the 100-mark paper has been divided into 60-mark theory conducted by MSBSHSE and 40-mark practicals. The 40 marks is further divided into 20 for practical exams and 20 for multiple-choice question (MCQ) test conducted by schools internally.

M V Gosawi, secretary, divisional Board, Pune, MSBSHSE, said, "The usual system is that the custodian (usually the headmaster of the school) collects the answer papers, mixes them up randomly and then despatches them to the evaluation centre as per subject and medium code and bar code of each centre. But now for this batch of 300 papers, we will have to get them to the division office directly as we cannot send them to two different evaluation centres and will have to get them evaluated under the centralised evaluation system under which papers of students from Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and other media are evaluated."

To maintain the confidentiality of the paper correction process and prevent undue panic among students and teachers, Gosawi refused to divulge the name and location of the school. He has ruled out any possibility of delay in declaration of results due to the mix-up. "Compared to 17 lakh students appearing for the exams, 300 is a small number and the matter will be dealt with very swiftly," he said.

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