SC to hear plea seeking regulations for CBSE digital evaluation on August 21

The Supreme Court on Friday fixed August 21 for hearing a plea seeking regulations for CBSE’s On-Screen Marking system. The plea highlights students facing admission difficulties due to CBSE scores and seeks safeguards, including relaxation of minimum qualifying marks

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it would hear on August 21 a plea seeking directions to the Centre and the CBSE to frame regulations for conducting exams through the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system. The CBSE’s OSM evaluation system is a digital grading method where teachers assess scanned copies of physical answer sheets on a computer instead of checking physical paper scripts.

The plea came up for hearing before a bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana. The counsel appearing for the petitioner told the bench that some students have passed their Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams and subsequently appeared for entrance examinations for other courses. He said these students have not secured the minimum marks needed for admission due to their CBSE scores and some of the courses have already commenced.

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“Find out how can you protect their interest,” the bench told the counsel appearing for the CBSE. The bench posted the matter for August 21 after it was informed that Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who was earlier asked by the apex court to assist it in the matter, was not available today. On July 15, expressing concern over students’ “frustration” with the CBSE’s digital marking system, the top court had sought Mehta’s assistance in the matter.

The top law officer had then informed the bench that while individual marksheet discrepancies mentioned in the plea had largely been resolved, the government was taking the systemic issues seriously. He had said that a one-member commission, led by S Radha Chauhan, had been constituted to review the evaluation system and recommend necessary systemic changes.

The bench had asked the solicitor general to apprise it of the remedial steps that had been taken so far by the CBSE. The PIL has been filed in the top court by Rakesh Binjola through advocate Laxmikant Matadan Shukla. The petition seeks directions to the Centre and the CBSE to frame regulations for conducting CBSE Board examinations through the OSM evaluation system and to constitute a high-powered committee to supervise and implement such reforms.

The petitioner has also sought directions to grant relaxation in minimum qualifying marks for students who have already secured provisional admissions or cleared entrance examinations, as well as exemption from the 75 per cent or other minimum class 12 marks criteria prescribed for admission to various courses.