CBSE charges Rs 500 for JEE script

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) decision to give IIT aspirants, who appeared for the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains), photocopies of their scripts and correct keys risks sparking off a controversy from a transparency initiative. Charu Sudan Kasturi reports.

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) decision to give IIT aspirants, who appeared for the Joint Entrance Examination (Mains), photocopies of their scripts and correct keys risks sparking off a controversy from a transparency initiative.

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The reason — a Rs 500 fee that India’s largest board is charging.

Parents and independent educationists have slammed the move to charge the fee terming it a violation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act that allows citizens to seek documents for an application charge of R10 with an additional charge of Rs 2 per page. The Central Board of Secondary Education transparency offer — to provide OMR sheets, answer keys and calculation sheets of the student — would typically amount to a total Right to Information Act fee of under Rs 50.

Central Board of Secondary Education chairman Vineet Joshi told HT the initiative was based on a similar platform used last year for the All India Engineering Entrance Examination (AIEEE). “And we’re providing more information than the Right to Information Act would allow,” Joshi said.

The Central Board of Secondary Education notification on the initiative states that “those who have already applied under the Right to Information Act (for the OMR sheets and answer keys) or otherwise may apply afresh along with the required fee of Rs 500.”