Lok Sabha Question No. 488 (STARRED), answered on 2018-04-02
Subject: Inflation of Marks by State Boards
Ministry: HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Asked by: OM BIRLA, ELUMALAI VELLAIGOUNDER

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL EDUCATION & LITERACY

## LOK SABHA

## STARRED QUESTION NO.*488 TO BE ANSWERED ON 2 nd  APRIL, 2018

## Inflation of Marks by State Boards

## *488.   SHRI OM BIRLA: SHRI V. ELUMALAI:

Will  the  Minister  of  HUMAN  RESOURCE  DEVELOPMENT be  pleased  to state:

- (a) whether the Government acknowledges that there has been inflation of marks by different State Boards as a result of which the institutions are facing problems in conducting various admission processes for universities and colleges and if so, the details thereof along with the measures taken by the Government to address the issue;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  initiated  any  mechanism  or  directed  the  State Boards to stop inflating marks and come up with a uniform pattern  of  courses, exams  and  assessment  for  better  assessment  of  students  from  all  over  the country;
- (c) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; and
- (d) whether  the  Government  is  also  open  to  the  establishment  of  an  authority  for assessing  the  marks  and  bringing  them  in  uniformity  with  national  boards  like CBSE, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT (SHRI PRAKASH JAVADEKAR)

- (a) to (d):   A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO THE PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.*488 FOR ANSWER ON 02.04.2018 ASKED BY SHRI OM BIRLA  AND  SHRI  V.  ELUMALAI,  MP,  LOK  SABHA  REGARDING  INFLATION  OF MARKS BY STATE BOARDS

- (a)  to  (d)  :  A  meeting  to  review  the  Policy  of  Moderation  of  marks  to  avoid  spiking  of marks was convened by the Secretary (School Education and Literacy) in Ministry of Human Resource  Development  on  24 th April,  2017  with  State  Education  Secretaries and Chairman of State Education Boards and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).   The  following  decisions  in  regard  to  moderation  of  marks  for  upward revision/spiking of marks were taken unanimously:
- (i)          All  State  Boards  decided  to  stop  awarding  moderation  of  marks  for upward revision/spiking of marks from the current year except Kerala Board and subject  to  amendment  in  the  State  regulations,  if  required.  However,  Kerala Board conveyed to do away with moderation from the next year.
- (ii)         All  State  Boards decided to continue with the policy of Grace Marks for lower level performance to improve the pass percentage but the policy should be placed on Board's web-site for transparency.  It was also decided to show grace marks distinctly in the Marks Sheet.

All State Boards also decided to constitute an Inter Board Working Group (IBWG) comprising  of  Chairman,  Board  of  Gujarat,  Jammu  &  Kashmir,  Kerala,  Telengana, Chhattisgarh, Manipur, Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) with Chairman, CBSE as the Convener of the IBWG.

Subsequently,  two  meetings  of  the  Inter-Board  Working  Group  were  held  to deliberate upon the issue.

In  the  light  of  the  outcomes  of  these  high  level  meetings,  it  was  decided  to recommend implementation of the following by all School Education Boards:

- i.          Practice of awarding moderation marks should be done away with, except in  the  cases  of  ambiguity  in  the  question  paper,  inter-set  variation  in difficulty level (if multiple sets system exists in the Board) and vagaries in the evaluation process based on statistical analysis.  Bunching of marks and their spiking should be completely avoided.
- ii.         The practice of awarding grace marks should continue to pass the border line  cases.   The  policy  of  grace  marks  should  also  be  disclosed  by  all Boards on their websites.
- iii.        The weightage of extra-curricular activities should be same across all the Boards. Boards should show performance of students in extra-curricular activities separately on the marks statement rather than adding them into their scholastic performance.
- iv.         The  moderation policy and quantum of moderation given, if any, should also be disclosed by all Boards on their websites on a year-to-year basis.

All the Educations Boards have been requested for implementation of the above decision  in  a  transparent  manner.    The  implementation  of  the  above  decision  would help in bringing uniformity in evaluation process, parity of results and improve quality of Education with emphasis on learning outcomes.

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