PANAJI
Several students and parents on Tuesday flagged issues and inconsistencies a day after the Goa Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (GBSHSE) declared the HSSCE results.
The complaints were mostly centred on suspicion that results committees in some HSSs skipped scaling of marks in some subjects while others followed the scaling principle to the tee.
Many of the students and parents also expressed unhappiness over the assessment of their marks.
Teachers involved in computing the results, meanwhile, claimed that they faced real-time challenges in assessing the performance of the student on the basis of the past three-year reference average and many had to approach the Board chairman to resolve the issues.
Parents of students of Don Bosco Higher Secondary School in Panaji complained of the faulty marking process for subjects like French, Portuguese and Sanskrit which brought down the percentile of their wards.
“This is unfair. Some of the HSSs in Goa have applied the scaling process, while some have not. Hence there is no similarity in the assessment for all students who were in Std XII and who are now promoted”, a parent lamented.
“It has benefited the average students who scored well due to the scaling, while the scholars have suffered a setback in their marks,” alleged another parent.
Endorsing that the bright students have suffered in the process and scored less marks, another parent said, “This was an unprecedented year, and the pandemic has impacted every aspect of life. Education and careers are very crucial in students’ lives, and the Board must not play with the emotions of students who have put in efforts. The results have de-motivated our children and we need a re-assessment of the HSSE results.”
Parents of students at DBHSS who tried to meet the principal to get clarity on the issue, however, could not as he was not available.
Parents from other schools also expressed similar sentiments.
A parent from Dhempe PACE HSS at Miramar lamented the marking process saying his daughter always scored above 80 per cent in all the three years of reference. But this year, based on the average assessment of these marks, she got only 76%, which is far below her expectation.
“We cannot apply to reappear for the exam, as we don’t know when they will be held. Indeed, her low percentage will affect her future admissions,” he said.
Several HSS teachers that ‘The Goan’ contacted spoke of difficulties in uploading marks on the Board’s portal.
“When we tried to upload marks of optional languages, French, Portuguese and Sanskrit, there was some error. We were then advised by the Board chairman not to tinker with the average marks of these subjects for the last three years”, a teacher said.
In Konkani, Marathi and Hindi too, teachers did the same while in other subjects, the teachers were instructed to increase the marks if they were less than the average (of three years) and reduce, if they were higher than the average.
As a result, many HSSs recorded cent per cent results with all their students clearing their exams.
Meghana Devari, Sanskrit teacher at Vidya Prabodhini, Porvorim disclosed that students usually do well in optional language papers. Her HSS had taken into consideration the marks in Sanskrit and other optional languages during the assessment, she claims and adds that there was not much difference after scaling.
“The difference was of 2-3 marks, but if such difference is in all the subjects, it does make a big difference in percentage. The assessment based on the last three years performance acted as a solace for average students, but the brighter ones did suffer, as they are the ones who go for competitive exams”, she said.
When The Goan contacted the principal of Don Bosco HSS, Fr Clive, he declined to speak on the issue, claiming he has just taken over the post and it will be out of place if he comments on the issue without any knowledge.
The Goan consistently tried to contact GBSHSE chairman Bhagirath Shetye, but was not available for comment.
