OMR sheets to make debut in CBSE board exams

Nagpur: It’s a new beginning for CBSE board exams as the optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets make their presence felt. From this year, students will be filling out OMR sheets to enter their personal details rather than the older version of writing out each and every line.
Sumathi Venugopalan, principal of Centre Point School, said, “Students must take their time and carefully fill out the OMR sheets.They get 15 minutes to complete this formality and must do so with a very calm mind.” The OMR is a step towards CBSE’s major push towards digitalization so that ultimately the evaluation and result declaration will become quicker and error-free. The central board will also be going in for digital evaluation, something it started last year, which will help in getting the results out faster.
Though CBSE’s Std X papers started on Monday, but since it was an optional subject, the number of students appearing was low. Also, if compared to state board schools, the gap in enrolment figures is very vast. While an estimated 4,000 students appear for CBSE Std X in city, almost 50,000 appear for the state board’s SSC examination.
Tuesday is a major day for Std X students as the SSC exam also begins with a first language paper. Anil Pardhi, who is the officiating board secretary apart from his regular position as deputy director of education (DDE), said that 1.82 lakh students of Std X will appear for the exams across Nagpur division. The board has identified notorious centres and has constituted flying squads to check on malpractices. With the threat of swine flu looming large, the board has advised students to take necessary precautions and ensure their safety.