Hindustan Times: Mumbai: Wednesday, 16 August 2023.
A class 12 student in Mumbai, initially declared failed, went through a lengthy process and filed an RTI application to obtain a revised passing result.
A class 12 student, who was declared ‘failed’, stood her ground, went through hoops to finally succeed in obtaining a revised ‘pass’ result and clearing a subject in which she had been wrongfully given only 18 marks.
Mahim resident Sushmita Kori was shocked when she received her class 12 result in May 2023, indicating a failure despite having achieved 51% marks overall.
The surprising ‘failure’ stemmed from her receiving 18 marks in bookkeeping and accountancy subject, out of which 17 marks were from an internal examination conducted by the college.
After going through re-evaulation and approaching the state board, nothing changed for Kori until she filed an application under the Right To Information (RTI) act and finally got the result with 65 marks in the said subject. This boosted her overall percentage to 59%.
Having lost a month of first-year degree education, Kori now has to decide on which college she wants to take admission in.
Narrating her ordeal, Kori said, “I was shocked when I saw just 18 marks in bookkeeping and accountancy. I approached the college to understand the marks I obtained in the internal examination.”
Kori said, “The score sheet shows that I got 17 marks in the internal examination, which means I got only one mark in the written examination, which was highly impossible. I requested a re-evaluation and it showed the same score as on the marksheet,” said Kori.
Strong in her conviction, Kori kept fighting. She visited the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education’s Mumbai division office at Vashi. There, she met officials and told them about her issue. An official then showed her an answer sheet which indeed had only one mark mentioned on it.
“But when I went through the answer sheet, I realised that it was someone else’s handwriting,” said Kori. “When I raised the issue, a board official told me that they were helpless.”
She then approached Nitin Dalvi, who represents the Maharashtra State Student Parents Association, and that led to a meeting with Nitin Upasani, former chairman of the Mumbai division board, triggering a swift response.
After narrating the ordeal, Kori filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking her original answer sheet following which the board initiated an internal inquiry into the case.
Fast forward to August 14, when the Mumbai division office of the state board contacted her, requesting her presence. In a reversal, her previously failed results were revoked, and a new pass result was issued.
“When I reached the board office, I saw my new marksheet, in which my score has gone up from 18 to 65 marks, increasing my pass percentage from 51% to 59%,” said Kori.
While Kori celebrated her victory, the question of the error’s origin remains unanswered. Speaking on behalf of the federation, Dalvi expressed the need for a thorough investigation by the education department to ensure such mistakes are not repeated.
“Such errors not only compromise students’ educational years but also influence their prospects. As questions linger about the misallocated scores and potential implications, the federation is taking steps to bring this issue before the education minister and chief minister,” said Dalvi.
First-year degree colleges started in July this year. “I lost at least a month of my first-year degree education, and now, I need to decide where to take admission,” said Kori.
Repeated attempts to contact the board’s Mumbai division officials yielded no response.
A class 12 student in Mumbai, initially declared failed, went through a lengthy process and filed an RTI application to obtain a revised passing result.
A class 12 student, who was declared ‘failed’, stood her ground, went through hoops to finally succeed in obtaining a revised ‘pass’ result and clearing a subject in which she had been wrongfully given only 18 marks.
Mahim resident Sushmita Kori was shocked when she received her class 12 result in May 2023, indicating a failure despite having achieved 51% marks overall.
The surprising ‘failure’ stemmed from her receiving 18 marks in bookkeeping and accountancy subject, out of which 17 marks were from an internal examination conducted by the college.
After going through re-evaulation and approaching the state board, nothing changed for Kori until she filed an application under the Right To Information (RTI) act and finally got the result with 65 marks in the said subject. This boosted her overall percentage to 59%.
Having lost a month of first-year degree education, Kori now has to decide on which college she wants to take admission in.
Narrating her ordeal, Kori said, “I was shocked when I saw just 18 marks in bookkeeping and accountancy. I approached the college to understand the marks I obtained in the internal examination.”
Kori said, “The score sheet shows that I got 17 marks in the internal examination, which means I got only one mark in the written examination, which was highly impossible. I requested a re-evaluation and it showed the same score as on the marksheet,” said Kori.
Strong in her conviction, Kori kept fighting. She visited the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education’s Mumbai division office at Vashi. There, she met officials and told them about her issue. An official then showed her an answer sheet which indeed had only one mark mentioned on it.
“But when I went through the answer sheet, I realised that it was someone else’s handwriting,” said Kori. “When I raised the issue, a board official told me that they were helpless.”
She then approached Nitin Dalvi, who represents the Maharashtra State Student Parents Association, and that led to a meeting with Nitin Upasani, former chairman of the Mumbai division board, triggering a swift response.
After narrating the ordeal, Kori filed an application under the Right to Information (RTI) Act seeking her original answer sheet following which the board initiated an internal inquiry into the case.
Fast forward to August 14, when the Mumbai division office of the state board contacted her, requesting her presence. In a reversal, her previously failed results were revoked, and a new pass result was issued.
“When I reached the board office, I saw my new marksheet, in which my score has gone up from 18 to 65 marks, increasing my pass percentage from 51% to 59%,” said Kori.
While Kori celebrated her victory, the question of the error’s origin remains unanswered. Speaking on behalf of the federation, Dalvi expressed the need for a thorough investigation by the education department to ensure such mistakes are not repeated.
“Such errors not only compromise students’ educational years but also influence their prospects. As questions linger about the misallocated scores and potential implications, the federation is taking steps to bring this issue before the education minister and chief minister,” said Dalvi.
First-year degree colleges started in July this year. “I lost at least a month of my first-year degree education, and now, I need to decide where to take admission,” said Kori.
Repeated attempts to contact the board’s Mumbai division officials yielded no response.
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