Uttarakhand board's stinginess in giving marks is marring the prospects of thousands of students who are seeking admissions in the Government Colleges of the state. A recent study by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has authenticated the widely held belief that the students of Uttarakhand Vidhyalayi Shiksha Parishad (UVSP) are awarded fewer marks than their Indian Council of Secondary Education (ICSE) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) counterparts.
For its study the IIT Kharagpur asked the CBSE, ICSE and various state boards to send the marks of their top twenty percent candidates. The study revealed that the candidate at bottom of top 20 percent students of Uttarakhand board secured 64.8 Percent marks while the student of ICSE board in exactly similar position got 85 Percent marks similarly their CBSE counterpart was able to secure 82.2 Percent marks. The study reveals that the Boards of states like Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana are more magnanimous in giving marks as compared to Ramnagar based Uttarakhand board.
When contacted the Secretary of UVSP, D R Mathela accepted that the students of Uttarakhand board are getting less marks but he claimed that the board is committed to bring improvements in the process of giving marks. He said that the Board keeps the quality of evaluation in mind and the examiners are asked to strictly follow the step wise process of evaluation while giving the marks. Mathela said that the large number of vacant positions of the teachers in the remote areas of the state is also taking its toll on the studies which is reflected in the performance.
For the students of Uttarakhand board the process of getting admissions in the degree courses of the colleges of the states would be tougher this year as the colleges would give admissions as per the merit list. The state has large number of students from CBSE and ICSE boards and students of Uttarakhand board are sure to lag in the merit lists of the admissions. The Uttarakhand High Court recently has ordered that the admissions in the colleges should be as per the
sanctioned capacity only.