u/DriverIndividual9479

I am writing to you as a concerned student who wishes to highlight a serious flaw in the ICSE as well as ISC evaluation system. This is not a complaint born out of frustration alone, but a call for fairness and transparency in the way marks are awarded.

Currently, the ICSE Class 10 examination consists of 80 marks for the written paper and 20 marks for internal assessment. While the written exam is conducted under strict CISCE supervision, the internal marks are left entirely to schools. These 20 marks are then merged with the written marks, and the final score is published as a single number. Students and parents never see the breakdown of written and internal marks.

The problem is that in many schools, the internal marks are not awarded according to CISCE’s prescribed criteria. External examiners often do not come for oral or practical assessments. Instead, the same teacher who taught the class conducts the evaluation and internal marks are linked to private tuition. Students who attend a teacher’s tuition classes receive inflated marks, while those who do not are penalized, regardless of their performance in the written exam. This practice erases merit and rewards compliance over hard work.

This system causes immense injustice to students, distorts merit, and normalizes corruption. Every year, many students are affected, but the injustice remains invisible because internal marks are hidden.

I urge CISCE to adopt two urgent reforms:

1. Publish written and internal marks separately on marksheets. Transparency alone will ensure accountability, as students and parents can question discrepancies.
2. Ensure oral and practical exams are conducted with the same level of rules and regulations as of written exams. Inspectors and external examiners must be present, and schools must be audited to prevent manipulation of internal marks.

Without these reforms, the current system amounts to institutionalized cheating, where schools misuse their power and CISCE’s silence legitimizes the injustice. Students deserve fairness, parents deserve clarity, and the integrity of the ICSE and ISC examination must be protected.

I hope the Council will take this matter seriously and act to restore trust in the system.

Edit : CBSE board and all other state boards split the marks in the marksheet. Then why not ICSE and ISC?

Sincerely, A Concerned Student

I am writing to you as a concerned student who wishes to highlight a serious flaw in the ICSE evaluation system. This is not a complaint born out of frustration alone, but a call for fairness and transparency in the way marks are awarded.

Currently, the ICSE Class 10 examination consists of 80 marks for the written paper and 20 marks for internal assessment. While the written exam is conducted under strict CISCE supervision, the internal marks are left entirely to schools. These 20 marks are then merged with the written marks, and the final score is published as a single number. Students and parents never see the breakdown of written and internal marks.

The problem is that in many schools, the internal marks are not awarded according to CISCE’s prescribed criteria. External examiners often do not come for oral or practical assessments. Instead, the same teacher who taught the class conducts the evaluation and internal marks are linked to private tuition. Students who attend a teacher’s tuition classes receive inflated marks, while those who do not are penalized, regardless of their performance in the written exam. This practice erases merit and rewards compliance over hard work.

This system causes immense injustice to students, distorts merit, and normalizes corruption. Every year, many students are affected, but the injustice remains invisible because internal marks are hidden.

I urge CISCE to adopt two urgent reforms:

1. Publish written and internal marks separately on marksheets. Transparency alone will ensure accountability, as students and parents can question discrepancies.
2. Ensure oral and practical exams are conducted with the same level of rules and regulations as of written exams. Inspectors and external examiners must be present, and schools must be audited to prevent manipulation of internal marks.

Without these reforms, the current system amounts to institutionalized cheating, where schools misuse their power and CISCE’s silence legitimizes the injustice. Students deserve fairness, parents deserve clarity, and the integrity of the ICSE examination must be protected.

I hope the Council will take this matter seriously and act to restore trust in the system.

Edit : CBSE board and all other state boards split the marks in the marksheet. Then why not ICSE ?

Edit 2 - Thanks everyone for comments and upvotes, this proves many schools misuse internal marks and this is a serious issue in many schools. We urge ICSE to release Internal marks as transparency is the only fix...

Sincerely, A Concerned Student