Race against time: 1,100 teachers to evaluate 8.5L Class 5 & 8 board exam copies in six days

Indore: In a race against time, 1,100 teachers in Indore have been tasked with evaluation of nearly 8.5 lakh Class 5 and 8 MP board examination answer sheets by March 15. At the prescribed rate of 40 copies per teacher each day, only about 2.64 lakh answer sheets can be checked in six days, raising concerns that declaration of the results may face delay.The evaluation process began recently at six centres set up across the district. According to the school education department, around 1,100 teachers are assigned to the work. If all teachers check 40 answer sheets daily as directed, the system can process roughly 44,000 copies a day. However, even at this pace, the total evaluation in the available time falls far short of the overall requirement of nearly 8.5 lakh copies. The state education department has planned to announced the Class 5 and 8 board results on March 25. Teachers involved in the exercise say the evaluation is slower than expected due to practical constraints. Many teachers reach the evaluation centres only after early afternoon, leaving limited time to check answer sheets. Several of them are already deployed at examination centres from 7 am to around 1 pm and report for evaluation only after completing those duties.This dual responsibility affects the pace of assessment. Teachers say that by the time they reach the centres, the working window for evaluation becomes quite short. As a result, the number of answer sheets checked each day remains below the expected target.District project coordinator Sanjay Mishra said the department is monitoring the progress closely. "Evaluation work is ongoing at all centres and we are reviewing the pace regularly. Necessary steps are being taken to ensure the process moves smoothly and evaluation work is completed on time. Additional evaluators will be put on duty if needed," he said.