The council responsible for higher secondary education in the state has informed heads of government and government-aided schools that teachers will not be excused from evaluating answer scripts because the number of teachers is far lower than the number of students.

In an official communication, a deputy secretary of the council explained that the shortage of teachers at the secondary and higher secondary levels has made it necessary for all available teachers to participate in the evaluation process. As a result, requests seeking exemption from script evaluation duties will generally not be approved.

The state’s higher secondary examinations conducted under the semester system ended on February 27.

Students who did not pass the third-semester exams held in September appeared for supplementary tests alongside the fourth-semester examinations between February 12 and February 27.

Additionally, students who had failed the higher secondary examination last year under the earlier annual system also appeared for the tests conducted in February.

About 7.5 lakh students took the higher secondary examinations this year. According to a council official, evaluating such a large number of answer scripts has become challenging because there are not enough examiners available.

The State School Service Commission (SSC), which conducted recruitment examinations for teachers in September after a nine-year gap, has not yet started appointing teachers for the secondary and higher secondary levels.

According to the council’s instructions, teachers may be excused from evaluation duties only under the following circumstances:

• If the teacher has been appointed as a head examiner for Madhyamik answer-script evaluation
• If the teacher is on leave to pursue a B.Ed degree
• If the teacher is on maternity leave
• If the teacher is on leave without pay

School authorities have been asked not to forward requests for exemption unless they fall under these specified conditions.

Officials emphasized that publishing results on time is important. Since the examinations cover 64 subjects, all available examiners are required for evaluation. Any shortage could delay the release of Higher Secondary results and potentially affect undergraduate admission schedules.

The deputy secretary who issued the notice, Yaser Arafat, did not comment on the matter.

Earlier reports had indicated that due to the shortage of teachers at the higher secondary level, primary school teachers who normally teach Classes I to V were assigned invigilation duties during the Class XII board examinations.

According to officials, the SSC has been directed by the Supreme Court to complete the recruitment of 12,514 teachers at the higher secondary level by August 31 this year. Authorities expect the number of available examiners to increase once these appointments are completed.