Pvt schools manipulate marks?: State govt in a fix over Class 10 scores as answer sheets ‘appear fake’

Moreover, the overall percentage in government schools is likely to dip as most students have not secured good marks in both quarterly and half-yearly exams.

After declaring all students as ‘passed’, the government had also announced that for Class 10 students, 80% of marks would be awarded based on their performance in the quarterly and half-yearly exams and 20% marks would be based on their attendance.

A senior official from the Directorate of School Education, seeking anonymity, told DT Next on Tuesday that most schools have submitted not just student’s marks data but answer sheets of quarterly and half-yearly exams as well, which was made mandatory. “During scrutiny, we found that many private schools submitted fake answer scripts awarding more marks to the students,” he said, adding, “The doubts crept in after we saw that the scripts looked fresh and new.” He said the authorities also noticed that in some cases, the total marks awarded did not tallying with the marks given to individual answers. Stating that such schools were asked for an explanation, the official said the marks sheets will not be released to the students unless their genuineness has been ascertained.

Meanwhile, Directorate officials said that from the government schools, they had noticed that a large number of students secured fewer marks in term exams and therefore there was a possibility of a reduction in the overall percentage. Tamil Nadu Teachers Association President P K Ilamaran said that usually, students, especially those appearing for board exams in government and government-aided schools will be given intensive training through several revision tests only after half-yearly exams so that they secure good marks in the final. “There is no doubt that many students would have not secured good marks in quarterly and half-yearly exams and taking that into consideration will not serve the purpose,” he said.