Pimpri: The state education board is mulling the option of sending photocopies of answer sheets by e-mail to class 10 and 12 students who had applied for it after the results are declared.
As per a Supreme Court ruling of 2011, aggrieved students can apply under the Right to Information (RTI) Act for getting a photocopy of their evaluated answer sheets from the state or central education boards.
This year due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country, the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education will declare results for class 12 and 10 by July 15 and July-end respectively. Once the results are declared, the reevaluation process, receiving applications for photocopies of answer sheets and other processes need to be completed in the stipulated time by the board. To overcome the logistical challenges due to lockdown restrictions in various regions, the board is mulling the option of sending these photocopies through e-mail to students.
Recently, the process of moderation of answer sheets was completed which has been delayed by almost two months. This delay was due to the restrictions on transporting the answer sheets. The board officials with the help of police, civic and district administration officials managed to collect the answer sheets from moderators. Now, the answer sheets are now being checked for errors and verification. Once the final marks are calculated, the final data will be sent to the board's head office at Pune. The entire process has been delayed by two months and hence results will be declared by July end.
The board will ask students to fill the application form online within 8 days of declaration of results, for obtaining the photocopy of answer sheets. Students can apply for the answersheet photocopies within 8 days of the declaration of results. Students have to pay a fee for this facility. After the application is received, the particular answer sheets will be scanned and sent through email. Every year thousands of students avail this facility to understand how the marks have been awarded to them in each subject.
The revaluation process will also be done online this year. More than 25 lakh students appear for Class 10 and 12 exams of the state board every year. Out of these, thousands of students apply for revaluation and photocopy of answer sheets. The board is facing an uphill task of finding these particular answer sheets and scanning them in the restrictive environment due to COVID-19 outbreak.
