Sudhir Agarwal, J. - (1.) IN this bunch of more than one and half dozen writ petitions aggrieved by test conducted by Secondary Education Board Allahabad, U.P. (hereinafter referred to as "the Board") termed as "U.P. Teachers Eligibility Test 2011", the petitioners have approached this Court by means of these writ petitions, assailing their failure on various grounds. Some broad issues are as under: I. Several questions having multiple options were wrong in the sense that none of the options was correct answer to the concerned question. II. Some of the questions were such where according to model answers subsequently disclosed by examining body, the option disclosed to be correct was actually incorrect. INstead some other answer was correct. Hence, the questions have been evaluated with wrong answers, following mistake committed in model key answers prepared by the Board. III. The candidates were actually present and had appeared in the examination but were wrongly shown absent. IV. More than one candidate were provided same roll number which has influenced their result. V. Answer booklet of one series had been examined with model answer sheets of different series resulting in wrong evaluation/assessment of candidates' answer sheets.
(2.) THERE are certain minor individual complaints also with regard to assessment, declaration of result etc. Considering volume of cases coming to this Court raising similar complaints some of which are referred above and magnitude of the test conducted by the Board, this Court found that it would be in the interest of public at large if these matters are disposed of at the earliest and in this view of the matter with the consent of learned counsel for the parties, the Court permitted them to address Court on various aspects based on their averments contained in their respective writ petitions in general. So far as the Board is concerned, learned Standing Counsel chose not to file counter-affidavit and instead had the benefit of presence of Secretary of the Board with relevant information and assisted the Court expressing Board's anxiety also of expeditious disposal of the matter in such a manner so that grievances of the petitioners are attended in an effective and objective manner and all these matters may settle finally. Regarding individual dispute relating to minor mistakes in assessment of answer sheets it was suggested that the Board shall entertain complaints made by individual candidates specifically and after looking into record and examining threadbare, the candidates shall be informed of the consequences. In this context, the only anxiety expressed by the Board is that this indulgence cannot be allowed for an indefinite period and, therefore, the Court may provide any reasonable time within which candidates aggrieved if any, may approach the Board with their complaints which shall be attended by it. Sri Keeraj Upadhyay, learned Standing Counsel, however, also informed the Court that the Board had already been receiving and attending complaints of candidates and had also examined the same in detail. He also informed that with regard to discrepancies in model key answers the complaints were attended by Board and they constituting a committee of experts who examined all the answer sheets threadbare and thereafter submitted their report. It has been explained by him that there were three sets of examinations namely; (I) Junior Primary Level Examination (Class I to V) (hereinafter referred to "J.L.E." (II) Senior Primary Level Examination (Class VI to VIII) (Science) (hereinafter referred to "S.L.E.(S)" (III) Senior Primary Level Examination (Class VI to VIII) (Arts)fhereinafter referred to "J.L.E.(A)" He said that in every set of these examinations, answer sheets of four series were circulated to examinees which are Series 'A', 'B', 'C' and 'D'. The total number of questions in one set were 150. Questions set up in all the series of one kind of examination are same but their order/ arrangement in different Series is different. For example, in J.L.E. question No. 6 in Series 'A' is question No. 26 in Series 'B', 1 in Series 'C' and 21 in Series 'D' and so on. He said that in J.L.E.'s question paper committee of experts' constituted by Board found that there are five questions in which option shown to be correct in the model key answerers was actually incorrect and instead thereof other options were correct. Similar mistake in respect to eight questions was found in S.L.E.(S) and seven questions in S.L.E. (A). Besides in S.L.E.(S) two questions were such for which none of the options was correct. In S.L.E. (A) there are three such questions in which none of the option was correct. Sri Upadhyay, therefore, submitted that acting upon the aforesaid report of Experts, the Board revised its result by assigning marks to such candidates who had answered correct option (revised) by treating model key answers of that question incorrect and deducting marks allotted earlier. So far as the questions where no option was found correct, in respect thereof, all the candidates have been awarded marks whether they attempted the answer or not and revised result as such has been declared. Details of such questions, where answers, options have been varied or where all answers were incorrect in different Series are as under : JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image1.jpg (The asterisks show questions bearing all options in Key Answers incorrect) Sri Ashok Khare, learned Senior Advocate, appearing in Writ Petition No. 71563 of 2011 contended that in L.J.E., answer sheet, Series 'B' there are three more questions namely, questions No. 21, 85 and 142 in regard whereto either of key answers are incorrect, or the correct answer as per model key answer is incorrect and instead a different answer is correct. These three questions and options given thereto in Series 'B' of J.L.E. are as under: "Q.21 To maintain interest among students in class, a teacher should. (A) use the (B) discuss blackboard (C) tell stories (D) ask questions. JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image2.jpg Q. 85 Choose the word opposite in meaning to the given word: ability (A) feasibility (B) inability (C) disability (D) inability. Q.142. Oceans cover most of the earth's surface. Which is approximately (A)3/4 (B)1/2 (C)1/4 (D)2/3 JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image3.jpg (A) 3/4 (B) 1/2 (C) 1/4 (D) 2/3 (highlighted part shown correct answer as per Board)
(3.) HE further submitted that question No. 121 has four options and all these options are incorrect. Similarly, with respect of question No. 125 he contended that earlier the model key answer shows option 'C' as correct while as per report of experts committee, the Board has now switched to option 'B' but this is also incorrect option. Therefore, deduction of marks in respect of question No. 125 Series 'B' of such candidates who have opted for 'C' is incorrect. In Writ Petition No. 71399 of 2011 Sri S.K. Shukla, Advocate, advancing his submission on behalf of three petitioners, Sri Jai Prakash Pandey, Sunita Pandey and Harshita Malviya, contended that in J.L.E. Series 'B' questions No. 2, 3 and 28 also have wrong answers in Model Key Answers and instead correct answers ought to be as suggested by petitioners. These three questions read as under: Q.2. Dyslexia is associated with (A) mental (B) mathematical disorder disorder (C) reading (D) behavioural disorder disorder. JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image4.jpg Q.3. Education of children with special needs should be provided (A) alongwith other normal children (B) by methods developed for special children in special schools (C) in special school (D) by special teachers in special schools. JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image5.jpg JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image6.jpg Q. 28. You have been told to accommodate two mentally retarded children in your class. You will (A) refuse to accept them as your students (B) tell the principal to accommodate them in another class exclusively for mentally retarded children (C) learn techniques to teach such students (D) none of these. JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image7.jpg Similarly in regard to S.L.E.(A) Series 'B' he submitted that answers treated correct in model key answer in regard to questions No. 3,17 and 21 are not correct. These questions read as under: Q.3. In which of the following stages do children become active members of their jeer group? (A) Adoles- (B) Adolthood cenee (C) Early (D) Childhood. childhood JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image8.jpg Q. 17. Some students send a greeting card to you on Teacher's day. What will you do? You will (A) do nothing (B) say thanks to them (C) ask them (D) reciprocate the not to waste good wishes to money them. JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image9.jpg Q. 21. Authoritarian level teaching is (A) teacher (B) child centred centred (C) headmaster (D) experience centred based. JUDGEMENT_569_ADJ1_2012Image10.jpg ;