Failed, passed, failed again: Telangana Board on student who committed suicide after result declaration

Hours after declaring that Anamika Arutla, who had committed suicide after failing in Telangana Intermediate Examinations, had in fact passed her Telugu exam by scoring 48 marks as opposed to 20 marks originally awarded, Telangana State Board of Intermediate Education (TSBIE) has put out a fresh update claiming the updated passing marks were a "clerical error". Her re-evaluated mark was actually only 21.

Anamika's sister Udaya Arutala told reporters, "On April 18 the results were released in which she got low marks in Telugu, after which she committed suicide. We filed a re-verification and today the marks were updated and she was declared passed. Everyone can see whose fault it is. There was no other reason behind her death. It is all the board of Intermediate's mistake."

Anamika was given 20 marks in the Telugu paper when the result was first announced on April 18 and after re-evaluation the marks were increased to 48. Now, according to the latest update by the Board, the student has got only 21 marks in the subject. In a press statement released by the TSBIE, the Board said it was not responsible for the student's death.

"Family is alleging TSBIE responsible for Anamika's suicide. We deny this allegation and will provide proof of answer scripts in which marks have changed from 20 to 21 after re-verification. The subject experts of Telugu subject have re-verified answer scripts of Anamika in the board exam. After completion of re-verification, she secured 21 marks. But her marks were wrongly uploaded as 48 instead of 21 because of clerical mistake in the spot valuation camp."

The TSBIE has also constituted a committee to inquire the issue and the error committed in uploading the marks. "The Board will initiate action against those responsible for this error", the board said. The TSBIE had declared results of the intermediate exams (for 11th and 12th standards) on April 18. Out of the 9.7 lakh students who appeared for the exam, 3.28 lakh were declared failed in one subject or the other. But after re-evaluation, it was found that 1,137 students had actually passed their respective exams.

(With inputs from ANI)