Students in Kerala are reeling from the impact of the CBSE Class XII results that came out on Wednesday.

Though the Thiruvananthapuram region of the CBSE topped in the results, school authorities and parents say many students have been left shocked after scoring less-than-expected marks.

The death of a student in Kollam, reportedly by suicide, soon after result publication has left parents and teachers very anxious. For Science stream students, it has come on top of the trauma of cancellation of NEET-UG.

School authorities, on condition of anonymity, said that if even extremely bright students who were expecting to score 99% or more in the board exams have seen their percentages dip, then one could imagine how despondent the students who score average or below average marks would be.

A Science stream student who scored 80% marks said she could not even wrap her head around what had happened. “I have not been able to fathom where I lost marks,” said the student who was a Class X topper.

The student said she did well in her pre-board examinations which, as a rule, put students through the wringer. “For the boards, students go that extra mile. But to get marks in the 60s in two subjects has been a blow,” she said.

Students had been dealt a bad hand, particularly in subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, multiple teachers alleged. Students had already flagged the problem of lengthy question papers and time-consuming questions at the outset, they said.

They pointed out that in some subjects, various grades were awarded for scores much lower than usual. For instance, in Maths, students who had scored 85 got A1 grade. This would not have happened earlier.

A teacher who was scathing in the criticism of the board said the Class XII exams should be student-friendly and test what students know. These are not entrance examinations to defeat students and risk their futures, especially since there are entrance exams for almost every higher education avenue these days, the teacher added.

Multiple teachers pointed out that no leeway was possible for students in danger of failing in the newly introduced on-screen marking (OSM) system with automated totalling.

‘Lack of uniformity’

A number of teachers said different question papers for different regions, ostensibly to limit impact in the event of paper leaks, had led to a lack of uniformity in difficulty levels. Use of multiple sets of question papers worsened matters.

Fingers are also being pointed at OSM, a system introduced to ensure error-free evaluation, transparency, complete assessment, and efficiency. However, teachers said that besides the fact that the evaluation started late, not all evaluators were proficient in OSM. This could likely have an impact on marks awarded if teachers did not have proper mouse control.

Also, unlike in manual correction when answer scripts were cross-checked by other evaluators, in the OSM system only one evaluator would correct it, with only a small percentage of answer sheets going on to senior examiners for a second look. All these increased the likelihood of errors creeping in.

They flagged improper scanning of answer scripts, missing sheets, and the same answer scripts being sent over repeatedly for evaluation. Such answer scripts were rejected but what happened to them later was unclear.

Teachers complained that though they were correcting 25 papers a day initially, towards the end the numbers of papers they checked had gone up sharply in the race to finish evaluation that had dragged on for days.

Many students said they were considering applying for revaluation or appearing for improvement examinations.

A mother struggling to choke back emotions said her child had gone into a shell after getting her results. “The CBSE should answer for one year of hard work that has gone to waste,” she said, adding that she would go to court if need be for her child.