Moderation policy debate: State board students may suffer

The Delhi High Court order staying scrapping of moderation policy has not only left Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) students in limbo but also certain state boards which have already declared class XII results.

The CBSE, which has 18,500 affiliated schools, has so far been silent on whether it will challenge the decision or follow it, amid indications that it would move the Supreme Court which may further delay the announcement of results.

CBSE along with 32 other boards had last month agreed to scrap the moderation policy. The Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry had clarified that the states have choice to take a call on the issue.

Delhi High Court had this week ordered the CBSE not to go ahead with the scrapping of its moderation policy under which extra marks are awarded for difficult questions or questions with errors.

Education boards in Rajasthan, Karnataka and Punjab have already announced results without spiking marks in the name of "moderation".

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Haryana have also announced their results, but it is not clear whether they have followed the moderation policy or not.

Ashok Pandey, the chairperson of the National Progressive Schools Conference said, "If CBSE decides to follow the policy, then students from state boards will suffer in undergraduate admissions as they will not meet the cut offs".

Punjab School Education Board chairman, S Balbir Singh Dhol, said, "We are just examining the situation and contents of the court order. A decision will be taken soon after wide consultations".

BL Chaudhury, Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education’s chairman, said their board never followed the moderation policy.

"We never followed moderation so the CBSE decision is not likely to impact prospects of our students positively or negatively," he said.

Uttar Pradesh Board, which is yet to announce the results, has said it will follow the CBSE's decision in this regard.

While students and parents continue to be in a panic mode, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar today assured students there was no reason to worry.

"The results will (out) be on time, there will be no delay. CBSE will make the announcement soon. The students should not worry. Justice will be done to everyone," he told reporters.