Now, students can seek exam marks details under RTI :‘Marksheet ruling will ensure transparency’

In a landmark judgment that will bring relief to millions of students and change how exams are conducted in the country, the Central Information Commission has ruled that authorities must usher in transparency and reveal questionwise marks awarded to candidates, under the Right To Information Act.

In March 2006, Treesa Irish from Kerala became the first student to fight tooth and nail to be allowed to see her exam answer scripts. She lost the battle when a full bench of the Central Information Commission ruled that the data she had requested was of a personal nature, and that its disclosure had no relation to any public interest and would therefore be prohibited under section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.

But, in a ruling on December 22, in the case of Ajeet Kumar Pathak, a class XII CBSE student from Bihar, who sought questionwise marks in the chemistry paper, information commissioner Shailesh Gandhi said, ‘‘None of the exemption clauses in the RTI Act were applicable in this case.’’ Gandhi said the ruling was now ‘‘in principle’’ applicable to all authorities conducting exams in the country.

‘Marksheet ruling will ensure transparency’

The Central Information Commission’s judgment of December 22 that allows students to access question-wise marks of their examination papers overturns earlier rulings that have said, among other things, that the relationship between the exam-conducting authority and the examiner was fiduciary in nature, and therefore information must be kept confidential under section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act.

Students under several education boards across the country have sought copies of their answer booklets under the RTI Act. All failed in their quest, with public information officers referring to Irish’s case as the precedent. That is, until Ajeet Kumar Pathak, a class XII student, demanded that CBSE board provide him details of question-wise marks awarded to him in the Chemistry paper.

Here too, the CBSE board stated, ‘‘The larger public interest does not warrant disclosure of such information.’’

Pathak then filed his first appeal, which was again defeated, with the authority ruling that ‘‘no candidates shall have the right to obtain questionwise marks’’. It was then that CIC stepped in and cleared the way for details of questionwise marks to be revealed. NCERT joint director G Ravindra said that this ruling was in line with the National Curriculum Framework of 2005, which emphasized transparency in conducting examinations.

‘‘NCF 2005 had suggested several exam reforms, including transparency and stress-free exams. However, NCERT is an advisory body, and it was upto boards to implement NCERT recommendations,’’ added Ravindra. Karnataka was the only state in the country that decided to go ahead and hand over answer sheets to students.
Source:-The Times of India Delhi 29 December 2008 P. 1
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