Lost answer sheet lands up in Mirror office

Updated on: Thursday, June 09, 2011

The results of the HSC exams were declared on May 27 and one student found that he had failed in all the subjects. However, a paper that was delivered to the Mumbai Mirror office on Saturday proves otherwise. The courier was no ordinary sheet of paper. It was the answer sheet of the student, Pravin Tambe from Siddharth College. Ironically Pravin, who did fail in all other subjects, but the one he did clear never ended up in the board database.

Interestingly, while the Board says the paper may have been lost in transit after being corrected, the examiner mentioned by the Board, Vijay Mohite, says he got only 98 copies – there were 99 students who appeared for the paper – and thus, it is possible that Pravin’s paper never reached him. The answer sheet was of ‘Pali’ subject and the student wrote his answers in Marathi. It had already been evaluated and the examiner had given Pravin 45 marks, as was reflected in the score sheet printed on the first page of the answer sheet. The roll number of the candidate was still covered by the barcode - given to avoid any foul play in scores. The bar code read: 4HSV-M-11-3512-03094-045 - PALI. The exam was conducted on February 23.

Armed with these details Mumbai Mirror approached the Board and found the student’s name and college. We also learnt that the answer sheet was lost before Pravin’s score could be added to his other scores. It seems that in the absence of the answer sheet an aggregate of all other marks was taken. As Tambe had failed in all other subjects, he was awarded 21 marks in this paper as well. A whole 24 marks less. Ask a student appearing for the Boards how important even a single mark is. Since the paper had already been corrected the fault does not lie at the examination centre.

Board officials said in May they had figured that an answer sheet had got lost and that this was probably the one. “We initiated an inquiry into the matter and even a committee was formed. And we have a standing committee meeting which will take a decision on the matter,” a senior official from the Board, who did not wish to be named, said. However, he had no answer when asked why the Board didn’t file an FIR in the case.

The senior official added, “It is most unfortunate that this was the only paper in which his score was the highest. We take care that no such thing happens. But one must understand that at times during transit, sometimes answer sheets are left behind in the vehicle. We try our best that no such thing occurs. But in such a situation we look at the overall performance of the student and award marks accordingly. The board is, and always has been, considerate and does realise the pressure students go through. We will not let any student suffer.” Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Board Shridhar Salunke, said that Pravin Tambe’s marks will be updated.

Lost answer sheet lands up in Mirror office

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