Jharkhand HSC Students Protest Against Unfair Results: Students Demand Review of Class 12 Exam Results

Class 12th students have started protesting against the Jharkhand Academic Council in the past week within Doranda. Protestors have held sit-in demonstrations in public areas and near the Jharkhand Education Minister’s residence. Students demand improvement assessments or reconsideration of marks.

Last week, the board published provisional JAC 12th scorecards for all streams – arts, commerce, and science. However, earlier this year, JAC officials cancelled the Jharkhand board examinations 2021 due to COVID-19 constraints. Hence, officials based the Jharkhand scorecards on alternative evaluation criteria. This criteria framework mainly revolved around class 11th internal assessments but also featured other weighted factors.

Several students have obtained unsatisfactory marks or failed due to COVID-19 constraints caused during their class 11th academic sessions. As one HSC student commented, “I passed class 11, but now I have failed. Now that the admission has started, where would I get admission?” The sentiment of feeling “left behind” has caused tensions to rise as the country rushes towards normalcy in the wake of COVID-19. 

An official student delegation recently held a meeting with Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto regarding the issue. Afterwards, ABVP (Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad) student leader Ravi Kumar participated in an interview on the protests. As quoted, “The results declared by Jharkhand Academic Council should be re-evaluated. The students who study got fewer marks in comparison to those who study less based on the previous records. This is not correct.”