Member of Parliament and Human Touch Takes Up the Issue with Principal Secretary

Port Blair, May 10: ‘Human Touch’, an NGO has requested the Administration to take up the matter of extension of revaluation time for Island students, who missed the opportunity to challenge the discrepancies in the OMR Sheets due to lack of information as well as shortage of time.

In a representation submitted to the Secretary Education, the NGO has highlighted the issue faced by the JEE Mains candidates of this Island territory. 

The engineering aspirant students from the Islands who appeared for the JEE (Mains) 2013 examinations were shocked to find that there were many discrepancies in the recorded responses as it differed from the one they had marked on the OMR sheets.

Before the results of JEE (Main), CBSE was announced, a public notice on revaluation was published by CBSE on its website on 30th April 2013 asking the candidates to view OMR Answer Sheets in respect of candidates who appeared for pen/ paper based examination and questions and responses marked by candidates who appeared for computer based examination.

The time period for viewing and submission of recorded responses as per the public notice was only 3 days from 30/04/2013 to 02/05/2013. The objections/ challenges submitted by post or in person were not accepted. Moreover, the prescribed fee of Rs 500/- in form of Demand Draft should have reached the Regional Office or JEE Main Office before 4th May 2013 up to 5.00 PM.

The actions and direction found in aforesaid public notice were purely impractical and insufficient considering the logistic, connectivity and geographical constraints of these Islands. It’s quite obvious that it’s impossible for the candidates residing either at Campbell Bay or any other interior part of these Islands as they may not know that such public notice has been published as there were no defined schedule published in advance for viewing and submission of objection in respect of OMR answer sheets. Thereafter even if they had come to know they may not be able to submit their response challenge in the stipulated time due to remoteness of area, internet connectivity and other logistics.

Immediately after the news flash of JEE Main 2013  results on 7th May 2013, the students from all parts of these Islands who checked their results were shocked to learn that there were huge differences in the  marks published in JEE Main website as compared to their anticipated marks which they had worked out with answer keys. Further, most of them even did not know that their OMR Answer Sheets had been published on the JEE Main website from 30th April, 2013 to 2nd May, 2013 for checking and submission of objections,” and this is because the JEE Main 2013, Secretariat had not mentioned any date of publication of OMR answer sheet in their bulletin.

The Matter of Revaluation has also been raised by the Member of Parliament, Shri Bishnu Pada Ray, with the Principal Secretary (Education), A&N Administration wherein he has requested that the Administration should take up the issue with the JEE main Secretariat/ CBSE to extend the time schedule for revaluation of OMR Answer Sheet in respect of the candidates appeared for pen and paper based examination from the islands and submission of objections in the event of discrepancy.