The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) laying down timelines for providing students with their marks or answer sheets upon request.

The recommendation was made while disposing of an appeal filed by a Class 12 student seeking access to her assessment records used to prepare the 2021 board examination results after the examinations were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi observed that introducing a standard procedure for the timely submission of marks or answer sheets was “the dire need of today’s scenario”. The commission said such a mechanism would help prevent hardships faced by students and reduce the impact of delays on young learners.

Invoking Section 25(5) of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, the CIC strongly recommended that CBSE formulate the SOP and publish the policy on its official website. A copy of the order has been sent to the CBSE Secretary for necessary action, while the board’s First Appellate Authority has been directed to submit a compliance report within four weeks.

The commission also held that denying a student access to her own assessment records was contrary to the spirit of the RTI Act. It noted that although the student’s challenge to her assessment is pending before a high court, the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) should have provided information relating to her own assessment after redacting details of other candidates protected under the RTI Act.

The CIC directed the CBSE’s CPIO to furnish the appellant, free of cost, with a revised reply containing the permissible information, including her assessment marks in the tabular format requested in the RTI application.

The student had sought the tabulation sheet for five subjects under CBSE’s special assessment policy adopted after the cancellation of the 2021 Class 12 board examinations. During the hearing, she argued that she was entitled to know the basis of her assessment and that no exemption under the RTI Act prevented disclosure of her own records.

Inputs from PTI

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