Nearly two years down the line, the CBSE is once again ready to revolutionise the examination system.
Emulating a popular practice abroad, the CBSE — for the first time — will have a section of its Class XII answer scripts examined through the onscreen marking system or OMS. For the uninitiated, OMS improves the accuracy and efficiency of marking remarkably. In this system, answer scripts are scanned and the images are uploaded on a server, which enables an examiner to evaluate the booklet on the computer with the help of specially developed software.
Though practically unheard of in India, this technology is being used abroad in countries such as the US, UK, Australia and China.
This novel experiment, however, is limited to the Class XII candidates from Delhi appearing for the English ( core) paper next month. The Class XII Board examinations begin on Tuesday and the English ( core) paper is scheduled on March 11.
“ Close to 80,000 candidates in Delhi will take the English ( core) examination this year. We will use OMS to evaluate their answer scripts. If this is successful then the numbers will go up next year,” a senior CBSE official said.
The OMS has an edge over the manual method as it reduces the margin of error in tabulation of marks and the scope of leaving any answers unevaluated.
The OMS software will calculate the total marks and also highlight any answers the examiner may have missed.
The CBSE’s decision to use OMS for Delhi candidates has come only after the success of the pilot project last year. “ Last year, about 200 answer scripts of the Class XII Board exams were evaluated manually as well as with OMS. After positive feedback from the examiners, the CBSE chairman decided to extend this to a larger number of students this year,” the official added.
To implement this on a larger scale, the CBSE has specially designed answer booklets for the Delhi students. Each booklet has a unique serial number and 24 pages, all of which are numbered.
That apart, each answer has a designated space, that is, students will have to write answers against the question numbers printed in the booklet.
These features make it easier for the OMS software to detect and retrieve the scanned answer booklets for the examiner.
All Delhi schools affiliated to the CBSE were informed about the newly designed answer booklets through a circular dated February 24, just a week before the exams are to commence.
This has created panic among students. The fact that all answers are being given a designated space is the biggest cause of concern.
The CBSE reportedly consulted several teachers before allotting space to each answer.
“ Even if they have given more space than what was recommended, I am not sure if it accounts for handwriting differences. I might need more space to write an answer because my words have more space in between,” a Class XII student of Springdales School on Pusa Road said.
“ It’s helpful as students know how much they are expected to write. It will be how they used to answer the Class X paper. This announcement could have come earlier,” Ameeta Wattal, principal of Springdales, said.
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