Delhi’s DoE asked to pay ₹50,000 to student for an attendance goof-up

The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) has asked the state education department to pay ₹50, 000 to a student who was erroneously marked absent for a Class 12 practical exam that he had appeared for and was awarded lesser marks on a pro-rata basis by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The error took place after the child remained enrolled at two Patrachar (correspondence) centres due to administrative confusion despite requesting for a change of centre, the DCPCR report noted.

“Department of education, the government of NCT of Delhi to compensate [the said student] with ₹50,000 as compensation for the mental trauma he has had to suffer because of the departmental lapse,” the commission noted in its report.

The student had appeared for his Class 12 mathematics practical assessment in the academic year 2019-20 and was awarded 17 out of 20 marks in the test. However, as he was erroneously enrolled in two centres, one of which marked him absent, the board granted him four out of 20 marks in the assessment as per the pro-rata basis on humanitarian grounds. The complainant also met CBSE officials to flag the concerns.

“Clearly, there were multiple systemic breakdowns at the Patrachar Vidyalaya level. The centre change information was not given to the original centre which resulted in the previous centre marking the child absent inadvertently,” the report noted.

CBSE Patrachar centres at Delhi government schools allow out-of-school students to appear for their board exams and study in non-formal mode. The commission directed CBSE to award the student 17 marks out of 20 for his internal assessment. Despite repeated requests, the CBSE spokesperson did not comment on the matter.

“CBSE is an examination body, i.e. its role is to conduct examinations and report scores. By seeking to decide marks to something the child has not scored and disregarding the actual marks scored by the child, the CBSE assumes to itself powers it does not have…By giving him marks lower than he scored (4/20), CBSE violates his right to education and deprives him of the world of opportunities that are dependent on the board results in our country,” the report noted.

An education department official, requesting anonymity, said, “Candidates choose their Patrachar centre on their own. In this case, the student selected the wrong district by mistake. Though we added his name in the new centre, we missed cancelling his name in the other centre. As soon as we got to know about the issue, we flagged it to CBSE officials. This was even before the child or his parent noticed the issue. Since DCPCR has asked the education department to initiate proceedings against our officials, they (officials) will present their side to the director of education.”