Other States - Orissa   

BSE asked to pay compensation to two students

CUTTACK: In a significant order, the Orissa High Court has directed the state Board of Secondary Education (BSE) to pay damages of Rs. 10,000 each to two students, who passed matriculation examination last year, for faulty mark sheets.

The board has been directed to pay the amount as compensation for causing mental agony to young minds and towards the cost of the case. The board could collect the amount from the erring officials for whose fault the students suffered, the HC said in its order delivered on Thursday.

Adjudication over two petitions filed by one Nibedita Mandal of Mayurbhanj and another by Pabitra Kumar Routray of Jajpur district, the bench of Justice M.M. Das ordered that the petitioners should be paid the damage and should be issued fresh computerised mark sheets as normally given to other students.

Nibedita passed the 2008 Matriculation examination in first division. While she had got more than 90 per cent marks in all subjects, surprisingly, she was shown to have got only 30 marks in Mathematics. She then applied for revaluation of her Mathematics paper.

But since the board doesn’t have the provision for revaluation of any paper, it only went for re-addition of marks and informed Nibedita that there has been no improvement in her mark. Nibedita then sought xerox copies of her Mathematics paper and another paper under the RTI Act but the board did not respond.

Finding no other alternative, Nibedita moved the HC praying that her Mathematics paper be evaluated again by a set of experts. When admitting the petition, the HC directed the board to submit the paper of Nibedita before the court, the board immediately rushed a letter to Nibedita stating that she had actually got 96 instead of 30 in Mathematics.

Expressing shock over the development, the HC ordered the BSE secretary to pay the damage to Nibedita and ordered that she should be immediately issued an appropriate mark sheet making the necessary correction. In case of Pabitra, the HC after perusing the answer sheet of the petitioner found that he has got 85 in Hindi instead of 35.

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