A scorching summer day’s hectic work was over, but still there was no hope of taking rest under a roof. As night was growing with a deadening silence reigning supreme, at times interrupted by shrilling noises of some nocturnal insects, a band of poor and worn-out souls proceeded on cat’s foot towards a building to take rest.
They rolled out paper sheets and laid their bodies on, but still sleep was eluding them. It was because they were trespassers! And soon, what they had feared about, happened. lest police should arrest them and they should have to face more embarrassing situations, they slipped away from there hearing the authority howling out and coming towards them to flush
them out.
These roofless unfortunates were none other than a dozen of examiners appointed by the Council of Higher Secondary Education (CHSE) to evaluate answer scripts in a college in Angul district way back in 1995. This correspondent’s chatting with a few of them revealed a startling fact of how these lecturers had been flushed out from a college hostel where they were taking rest without permission by
the principal.
The CHSE had asked these examiners to come to the valuation zone from a distance of 50 to 100 km and yet, had not arranged for their accommodation. The principal of the college where the valuation work was going on was reluctant to allow these lecturers stay in the hostel though it was vacant because of the summer vacation. The examiners said they had worked the whole day in the centre where minimum amenities like fan and drinking water were absent. Yet at the end of the work when they badly needed rest and sought permission to stay in the hostel, the principal had said no. The examiners had no acquaintances to stay the night with, nor had the money to stay in a hotel or lodge. So, despite not being permitted, they stealthily entered into the vacant hostel to spend the night after it was 12 pm. However, somehow, the principal came to know about it and rushed to the hostel with his men. He started scolding the trespassers with foul words. As he was rushing towards the room where the examiners were sleeping, the latter, sensing trouble and not wishing to be identified, jumped through a broken window in their bid to flee. But they fell in a marshy patch of land with knee-deep water and got entangled in a cobweb of foliages. As they waded through in the visionless night, the sharp blade of grass tore into their limbs.
The incident speaks volume about the faulty system that goes into the valuation works of the CHSE. Many teachers alleged that the remuneration factor is too poor and discouraging while the authorities never take care of providing amenities at the centre to ensure that the examiners feel comfortable while at work.
“Though there is a set of norms to be followed during the valuation works, they are hardly followed. The supervisor of the valuation zone and the principal of the college have the responsibility to ensure that the work goes smooth in strict conformity with the norms. But in many zones, the rules are thrown into the wind.
No fixed time is followed pertaining to the beginning and closing of the valuation work of a day. None sees who comes and leaves the zone when. Sometimes the examiners remain absent for a day or two and do their backlog works at great rush on a single day. Besides, in terms of arrangement of valuation table and arrangement of fans or ACs, there are always lapses. At times, the examiners of a table are found to be occupying seats at different places without coordination. The chief of the table also fails to maintain discipline since he does not have any administrative power. There are also goof-ups during coding of scripts and making packets. Examiners are also harassed during preparing bills and making payments,” alleged a few teachers, requesting anonymity.
They said that some CHSE officials make hay starting from the examination time till the valuation of papers, tabulation and final publication of results. During the valuation time, inexperienced teachers are deployed for the work, ignoring the veterans. Similarly, because of the nexus of some dishonest CHSE staff and examiners, the former manage to secure inflated marks in respect of a few roll numbers. The fixing during valuation involves huge kickbacks. However, the irregularities are not limited to the valuation alone; they are brazenly resorted to during tabulation of marks and final publication of results.
“The CHSE needs a thorough cleansing. Most trusted and honest employees, taking their track record into account, should be employed to steer the examination works or else corruption would creep in and vitiate the whole process,” opined a former reader.