Morung Express News
Dimapur | October 5
A candidate in the Graduate Teacher (Maths & Science) Exam 2017-18 has alleged anomalies in the marks awarded. The candidate, Rokato H. Zhimo, in a media statement, said that the allegation was based on RTI disclosures from the Department of School Education.
He furnished copies of disclosures received from the department in January, February and March this year. According to Zhimo, the anomalies in marks awarded cost him a place in the list of selected candidates, who were 52 in total.
Zhimo said that as per the RTI disclosures, it was obvious “the department had consciously and deliberately inflated the internal marks of many selected candidates to get them selected.”
He added that initially, when he sought clarification, the department while acknowledging the anomalies attributed it to “human error.”
He however contested the department’s justification while holding that it “does not hold any water as more than 70% of the selected candidate’s internal marks were found inflated as per the first RTI disclosure (of January 24, 20180).” According to him, those who scored low in the “external exam” were allegedly compensated by inflating the “internal (exam) marks.”
He said that a complaint was lodged in this regard following which the department informed him that it will be reviewed. However, he alleged that the department also reviewed “the external exam (answer script) of the selected candidates where no complaint was made.”
He based this allegation on the second RTI disclosure dated February 5, 2018, wherein, he said that the marks obtained by some of the selected candidates were found to be inflated as opposed to the RTI disclosure of January 24.
Further, he alleged that he was not awarded the “5% bonus marks” for candidates with “honours and higher qualifications” as was published in the advertisement. Whereas, it was awarded to other candidates, who were eventually selected, with higher qualification, he added.
He claimed that if the anomalies were addressed, his overall percentage points would have been high enough to make it to the list of successful candidates.
He added that the situation as pointed out has compelled him to take the matter to court.
