Plus-Two valuation hit as a section of teachers boycott camp

Thiruvananthapuram: A group of teachers boycotted the Plus-Two examination paper valuation camp in a few districts of Kerala alleging that the answer key of the Chemistry paper had been compromised. The camps at Thiruvananthapuram, Thrissur, Palakkad, Malappuram and Kozhikode district were disrupted on the first day.

The protestors said the answer key was prepared by the person who set the question paper, though under the supervision of the State Council for Educational Research and Training (SCERT).

Earlier, the students and teachers had complained that the questions of Chemistry exam were difficult. More than half of the questions were from the three chapters related to Organic Chemistry. Besides, one question was from a section that was not part of the syllabus.

The teachers’ committee that evaluated the Chemistry answer key were of the opinion that the valuation should be lenient in order to compensate for the complains raised by the students about the question paper. However, this suggestion was brushed aside and the original answer key that was prepared by the person who set the question paper was distributed at the camps for valuation.

The teachers who have been assigned duties at the valuation camps say that this answer key is as difficult and complicated as the question paper. They expressed concern that most students would fail the Chemistry exam if this answer key is used for evaluation.

R Arun Kumar, state president of Aided Higher Secondary Teachers Association, and S Manoj, its general secretary alleged that the Secretary of the Board of Higher Secondary Examinations has caused difficulties for the students and teachers by compromising the answer key. They added that the discrepancies regarding the answer key should be investigated.

O Shoukathali, President of Kerala Higher Secondary Teachers Union, and its general secretary Panakkad Abdul Jaleel demanded that the ambiguity regarding the answer key should be solved as soon as possible and a detailed inquiry too should be done. Meanwhile, Kerala School Teachers’ Association General Secretary NT Sivaraj said that the move to disrupt the valuation camps was condemnable.

The process
After the examination, the answer keys are cross checked and evaluated by a selected group of teachers. The answer key ratified by the teachers’ council is then submitted for the approval of the Chairman and the Secretary of the Board of Higher Secondary Examinations, before handing them out to the valuation camps.