ISC (Class XII) students in several schools have raised objections to the marks awarded to them in the board results and are applying for “dispute resolution” that will look at possible calculation errors.

Many of the students who are seeking a recalculation are high scorers who are upset with their board results and feel they should have got more, school heads said.

The council had cancelled this year’s ICSE and ISC exams because of the Covid pandemic and asked for the average marks of Classes XI and XII.

In at least one school, students felt that those who had appeared for the pre-board exams online scored more than those who wrote the paper in school.

The ICSE (Class X) and ISC (Class XII) results were published by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) on Saturday. Since then, several schools have received recalculation applications from students.

In La Martiniere for Boys, 50 ISC students have applied for dispute resolution, about 30 in St Xavier’s Collegiate School, around 15 in Loreto House, 12-odd in Don Bosco Park Circus, about 12 in Delhi Public School New Town, 10 in Calcutta Girls’ High School, and several in

Sri Sri Academy, MP Birla Foundation Higher Secondary School and St James’ School.

Several school heads said students were upset with maths, commerce, accounts and science subjects’ marks.

Several schools are still getting applications. The last date for schools to forward the requests to the CISCE is August 1.

“Since colleges are considering marks for admission and will not conduct admission tests, even one or two marks will make a big difference for students,” said Basanti Biswas, principal, Calcutta Girls’.

Several teachers said good students were feeling they would have done better had the board exams been held.

“Students who got very high marks (above 95) in school exams would want similar marks in the boards. They are applying (for recalculation) because their performance in the last two years have been considered in the absence of exams,” said Sonali Sen, principal, Delhi Public School New Town.

“The above-average students who appeared in offline exams (pre-boards) have applied (for recalculation of marks). They are looking at the marks of students who appeared in online exams and feel they deserve better scores,” said Father Thamacin Arulappan, principal, St Xavier’s Collegiate School.

The council has given students the option of dispute resolution — if a candidate has objections regarding the “computation of marks”, he or she can send a written application to the school.

The council had asked schools to review all such applications and forward them to the CISCE with their comments and supporting documents only if they were satisfied with the contentions.

The dispute mechanism is “only for the correction of calculation errors,” the council had said.

“When we receive an application we simply do not recommend (it to the council). We do so only after studying the request. The requests have come from above-average students whose marks have dipped in some subjects,” said John Stephen, acting principal, La Martiniere for Boys.

The council has also given students the provision to apply for improvement exams by August 1. The exams will be held in August or September, subject to the “prevailing conditions in the country at the time”.

“We have more students wanting to appear for improvement exams (compared to dispute resolution). Our children study hard in the last leg and because our assessment is strict, they score more in the boards than what they score in internal exams, which is why they want an improvement exam,” said Father Bikash Mondal, principal, Don Bosco Park Circus.

Parents are also making inquiries about when the improvement exams will be held because of the fear of rise in Covid infection.

They are worried that if the Covid situation worsens, it would be difficult for the students to sit for physical exams.

“It is a valid query from the parents and we are in touch with the council. But as of now they could apply if they want to appear for improvement exams,” said Suvina Shunglu, principal, Sri Sri Academy.