Error leaves Mumbai students in a flux

Arsalaan Ansari, a science student from Bhavan’s College, was stumped by a question in his higher secondary certificate (HSC) physics-II paper on Monday. A numerical question contained a measuring unit that he could not make any sense of. After poring over it for quite a few minutes, Ansari came to the conclusion that it had to be a printing error.

And, he was right. The state board has admitted to a printing error in question number five in the physics-II paper. Students were asked to find out the shortest wavelength, but in the options listed, the unit of measurement was given as ‘CE’ — instead of ‘AU’, which finds no mention in the textbook.

“I was confused and spent time thinking the answer over. Some students pointed out the mistake to the supervisors, but they did not pay attention to it,” complained Ansari.

Board chairperson Sarjerao Jadhav said students who have attempted that question will be given marks. “Chief moderators will study the paper. Since every step in an answer carries marks, those students who reached the last step will be given marks for it. It was a printing mistake. We regret it,” he said.