'Spiking' row returns to haunt UP Board exams

LUCKNOW: A controversy has erupted over alleged ‘spiking of marks’ in UP Board class X and XII results which were declared on April 29 by the UP Secondary Education Board.

It began after few award sheets carrying raw marks awarded by examiners, and final mark-sheets showing difference in the marks went viral on social media. Documents gathered by TOI shows that the spike ranges from 10 marks to 25 marks, and is also uneven.

Documents in possession of TOI show that a student who was awarded just two marks in a science as per the award sheet, had 23 in the final mark-sheet uploaded by the UPSEB post declaration of results. Officiating director, UPSEB SS Niranjan told TOI, “We have received complaints about spiking of marks. We will look into the matter.”


‘Spiking refers to inflation of marks by boards’

Spiking refers to inflation of marks by boards in order to bring parity in pass percentage with respect to the previous year’s statistics. It is also resorted to when the pass percentage is low, though last year all boards — Central and state — had decided to shun this practice.

However, new revelation about this year UP board examinations, held under strict vigil this time to check copying menace, has raised a question mark over its veracity,” says a senior teacher, pleading anonymity.

The spiking of marks have left teachers in shock. Without willing to be quoted, they said this is ‘unfair’, and will not benefit the students in the longer run. “This is playing with students’ future. Spiking of marks will not help UP board students in any competitive examinations,” said a teacher.

SP MLC from Bareilly-Moradabad teachers’ constituency, Sanjay Mishra, demanded a CBI probe into what he called a marks scam. “The BJP government that calls itself ‘sanskaari’ has committed one of the biggest scams by spiking of marks of students. Under the garb of cheating-free examinations, they have minted crores of rupees. They have failed in meeting teachers’ shortage but have created a history — of giving more than pass marks to students who have not even written a word in their answer copies,” Mishra said.

Another SP leader alleged that spiking was followed after it was found that the results of both the classes were very poor. “Had the pass percentage declined drastically, the BJP government would have lost young voters in 2019 elections. Hence, it decided to spike the marks and make students happy,” he added.