Fewer HSC students apply for answer sheet copies this year

A week after the result of the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) exam was announced, a fewer number of students in Mumbai have applied for copies of their answer sheets from that last year.

According to an official at the Mumbai division office of the state board, a total 5,284 students in Mumbai had submitted applications for copies since the result was declared online on June 2. Last year, the office received 7,188 applications.

The official explained that the considerably higher number last year may have been on account of the physics exam that many students felt was tougher and, therefore, many may have sought copies of their answer sheets to check the markings.

Students have to pay Rs400 as the fee for the photocopy of an answer sheet. The charge for revaluation of a particular answer sheet is Rs300. Students can apply for revaluation for a maximum of three subjects.

While those applying for a photocopy of an answer sheet also get the paper verified by default, those who wish to get a revaluation done have to apply separately within five days of receiving the photocopy. The application is to be made through the respective colleges.

On Tuesday, students will receive their exam certificates at their colleges from 11am onwards.

"Last year, we received more applications for photocopies of answer sheets compared to this year, mainly because of the physics exam," said Laxmikant Pandey, chairman of the state board's Mumbai division.

He recalled that the office received a flood of calls about the physics paper from students who hoped there would be a re-exam.

"There weren't many complaints after the result. But some junior colleges sought to make changes in the marks that they had given incorrectly in environment studies (EVS). Some colleges gave marks out of 20 when they should have marked out of 50, so we allowed them to make the correction," Pandey said.

This year, many repeater students were confused between the new and old syllabi.

"The board had instructed the colleges to inform students that they would have to appear for the exam in October or February under the new syllabus. But most of them failed to do this and as a result many who had prepared according to the old syllabus were in a spot," Pandey said.