Examiners and moderators checking the HSC board exam papers this year have a dilemma on their hands. Chief moderators have decided against awarding marks in Physics papers to students who haven't mentioned the serial alphabet along with the correct answer for multiple choice questions (MCQ). The answer is to be considered wrong even if the answer is correct but the serial alphabet isn't mentioned. The MCQ question carried four marks.
There was an instruction on the question paper that said: "For each MCQ, correct answer must be written along with the corresponding alphabet. There were four questions for one mark each.
Examiners and moderators say it's unfair to dock students' marks for failing to mention the alphabet. Anil Deshmukh, president, Mumbai Junior College Teachers' Union (MJCTU), said, "Why such discrimination in correction we don't understand. The decision wasn't taken for Chemistry or Biology.
If the answer is correct and the student learns that marks were cut just because the alphabet was missing, s/he may drag the moderators to court. We have asked the board secretary to do something about this."
According to Deshmukh, a meeting of chief moderators took place in Pune last week, which is where the decision was taken. While some teachers are correcting these questions, some others have decided to wait to hear more from board officials before acting on the issue. A lot of examiners have raised this issue, they said.
Meanwhile, some other teachers said the students need to follow whatever instructions were given.
"Since there were instructions, I didn't take any chances. I not only mentioned the corresponding alphabet, I also wrote the question before it," said one of the students.