Pune, July 25: Abhijit Shripad Joshi, the Class XII student whose RTI application was instrumental in bringing the SSC/HSC answersheets under the purview of the RTI Act, could see his mathematics answersheet but could not get it reassessed though his answers had matched with the model answers.
The efforts proved futile, as the 32-year-old rule 104 (3) of Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) says the candidate cannot demand reassessment.
As reported by The Indian Express on Friday, the State Information Commissioner (SIC) on Thursday came out with a historic order that the answersheets of HSC and SSC shall be made available to students for perusal on demand. However, now the question being raised is that if the student sees the answersheet and finds that his answers match with the model answers, will the answersheet be reassessed?
The case of Abhijit Joshi, he had demanded answersheets of physics, chemistry and mathematics. He approached the SIC when the board rejected his demand.
“I was shown all the answersheets during the hearing. There was no issues with physics and chemistry papers. But in the mathematics answersheet, though some steps of answers were different from the model answers, my final answers were right. However, the board officials said marks would not be changed, as there is no such provision in the rules of the board,” Abhijit said.
As the issue of reassessment comes under the purview of administrative work and not under “information,” the SIC could not give any order on it. However, in his remarks, SIC Vijay Kuvalekar said, “At present, the board only verify the marks, but it should also consider reassessing answersheets.
The board should not create walls of secrecy just because it does not have enough manpower.”
Abhijit’s father Shripad Joshi said even as his son would not get a chance to reassess his answersheet, the students appearing for SSC or HSC exams next year should be given the chance of reassessment.
“As my son will not get a chance to reassess his paper, he has taken admission to arts stream though he wanted to pursue engineering,” he said.
–Agencies