Kolkata, May 26 -- Major errors in the evaluation of Higher Secondary (HS) examination papers have come to light, with the recently released results of the Tatkal Post Publication Review (PPR) and Post Publication Scrutiny (PPS) revealing score increases of up to 54 marks. Sources now warn that even more serious mistakes - including a 72-mark jump - may emerge in the regular PPR/PPS results, expected to be released shortly.

This year, 5,561 students opted for expedited reviews under the Tatkal scheme, covering 11,555 answer scripts. According to the results released on May 15 by the West Bengal Council of Higher Secondary Education (WBCHSE), 2,689 scripts - around 23 per cent - saw an increase in marks. Most revisions were minor, with 2,559 scripts showing improvements of 1 to 10 marks, and 98 corrected by 11 to 20 marks.

However, 32 scripts displayed significant evaluation failures. Twelve saw increases between 21 and 30 marks, while 20 had jumps

of 31 or more. One of the most striking cases involved a student who was originally awarded just 17 marks in a subject but was later found to have scored 71. Following the Tatkal review, the student's marks were revised upwards by 54 - the highest jump recorded so far. A Council source has warned of even more serious lapses in the regular PPR/PPS round. In one flagged case, a student's score was mistakenly entered as 8 instead of 80 - the '0' was inadvertently dropped during online marks submission, resulting in a 72-mark discrepancy.

Describing the incidents as "gross irregularities," a senior WBCHSE official condemned the lapses: "These are clear cases of irresponsibility and lack of sincerity." "We will adopt a zero-tolerance policy against such incidents, just as we do with mobile phone use during exams. Any head examiner or evaluator found responsible for these serious lapses will face strict consequences, including removal from future evaluation duties," he added.

This is not an isolated occurrence. Last year, a student who had scored 63 out of 70 was incorrectly marked as 3, resulting in a 60-mark correction post-review. In other instances, digits were jumbled, such as 62 being misrecorded as 26. Council officials stressed that while minor errors may occur, discrepancies involving more than 20 marks - as seen in 32 Tatkal cases - usually stem from evaluators missing entire answers.

"Only when one or more answers go unchecked do such errors arise. It is completely unacceptable to the Council," the official said.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.