A Bunch of Letters Written to the CBSE Chairman

Written and sent on 3 November, 2014

The Chairman

CBSE, New Delhi

Dear Mr Joshi

Once again, I am writing to bring to your notice a glaring language error in the pledge of 31^st October used in schools in India and abroad and put on your website http://cbse.nic.in/attach/38_Pledge.pdf

“...actions of late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.” The correct English is actions of the late Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Look at the following example sentences from the Oxford Dictionaries: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/late

the late Francis Bacon

If the late princess were still alive...

He was husband of the late Kathleen and was a...

                         

Thank you for your attention.

http://eduspiritual.blogspot.com/

Written and sent on 26 September, 2014
Dear Mr Joshi

Once again I feel called upon to write to you and bring to your notice grave errors in the CCE poster poem/song titled Naya Aagaz that pervades all CCE documents as well as manuals/books for teachers available online on various locations including http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/cceresources/cce-poster-final.jpg

Before I proceed to point out glaring errors in the CCE poem/song, I feel sorry for those hundreds of thousands of students who, in spite of pursuing CBSE education particularly in the schools in the South, are not able to appreciate this beautiful song because they don’t speak and write Hindi nor is Hindi their second language in their class 10 studies. In all fairness, the song should have either been written in English or an English composition with the same theme should have coexisted with the Hindi one. Isn’t it true that almost all CBSE documents originally exist in English?

Anyway, look at the following errors in the song: 

नया आगाज़

आज समय की माँग पर
आगाज़ नया इक होगा
निरंतर योग्यता के निर्णय से……

इस नए प्रयास को हमने सफल बनाना है

इस नए प्रयास को हमें सफल बनाना है 

My Comment: This is grammatically incorrect and is one of the common errors in Hindi. This usage, which has originally come from Pakistan's Punjab, is seen in informal conversation in Delhi and Punjab, but should not be used in formal and written Hindi.

बेहतर शिक्षा से बदले देश, ऐसे इसे अपनाए

बेहतर शिक्षा से बदले देश, ऐसे इसे अपनाएँ

शिक्षक, शिक्षा और शिक्षित...

बस आगे बढते जाएँ

बस आगे बढ़ते  जाएँ

My Comment: There should be a dot below ढ

Yours sincerely
H. Pd. Singh
http://eduspiritual.blogspot.com/

Emailed on 16 December, 2013

 

The Chairman

CBSE

New Delhi

Dear Mr Joshi

In the wake of my letter (emailed on 22 September) showing glaring anomalies, omissions and ambiguities in the English Core syllabi of classes 11 and 12 for 2013—2015, I am glad to see the FEEDBACK QUESTIONNAIRE (English Syllabus: Classes IX – XII) put up on your website http://www.cbseacademic.in/         As I had also suggested in the same letter ‘...it will be in the best interests of the students to put a sample paper...’ on your website, I am equally delighted to see Modified syllabus and Sample Question Papers for Class XII, March 2014 for various subjects available on your website since November.

However, I must be forgiven—unless thanked—for pointing out several errors in the Modified syllabus and sample question paper for Class XII English Core, Annexure ‘D’ posted and available on  http://www.cbseacademic.in/web_material/Circulars/2013/74_ClassXII/English_Core_XII.pdf

As evident from my following analysis, the above document has been poorly word-processed and, worse still, the editor or moderator has done precious little to improve its inferior quality:

• First and foremost, the page 2 of the document is not downloadable, and as a result, after the first page one comes straight to page 3 which is unfortunately not numbered—unlike page 1 which is numbered. Numbered or not numbered, please arrange to get the technical problem addressed ASAP so that we are able to read and print all the pages of the document without inconvenience.
• Since there is now only one novel (long reading text) for class 12, the statement on page 3, unnumbered, under Q. 12 & 13 ‘Schools can choose any one out of the two novels prescribed’ should be altogether deleted. The use of ‘OR’ towards the end of the text on this page is meaningless.
• There is no book in the English language and literature titled Hound of Baskervilles as mentioned on the same page. The exact title of the novel is The Hound of the Baskervilles. [The same should replace the title on the last page of the sample question paper wrongly worded as The Hound of Baskerville.]
• On the same page 3 the sentence ‘With a view to instil the habit of reading...’ should be corrected and written as ‘With a view to instilling the habit...’

Errors in the question paper:

Q. No.	Error	Correction Suggested
Q 1.  Comprehension passage, para. 4	...it was then he would reiterate...	...it was then that he would reiterate...
Q 1.  Comprehension passage, para. 6	Napoleon, who has always been considered the idol of France, was placed fifth.	Napoleon, who had always been considered the idol of France, was placed fifth.
Q 1.1 c.	How did Pasteur engage himself in the estate?	…himself on the estate?
Q 2 Comprehension passage, 1st line	Ustad Bishmillah Khan	Ustad Bismillah Khan
2nd para, 1st line	He was very keen to play shehnai...	...keen to play the shehnai...
3rd para, 6th line	...playing from Red Fort.	...playing from the Red Fort.
Q 3 second option	…cleared the Pre-Medical Pre-Dental entrance examination. (Comment: exam doesn’t collocate with the verb ‘clear’. Nowadays many prefer to use ‘crack’. )	(Since one doesn’t pass or fail a competitive exam) …did/fared well in the Pre-Medical / Pre-Dental entrance examination and qualified for admission to…
Q 5 OR	...at least 05 years experience of...	...at least 5 years’ experience of...
Q 6 2nd line	Multiple reasons have been attributed to the havoc caused by heavy rains. Comment: The paper setter should distinguish between ‘reason’ and ‘cause’. It is usually not the reason that is attributed to something; when a phenomenon is attributed to something, the latter itself becomes the reason (cause).	One solution could be ‘The havoc in the wake of heavy rains has been attributed to multiple factors.’
Q 6 3rd line	Interested candidates should...	Candidates interested in the post should...
Q 7 Do	...chivalric certainly 1x4=4	...chivalric certainty 2+1+1=4 (Because there are only 3 questions: a, b, and c
Q 7 c.	What do you understand by ‘chivalric certainty’?	What is meant by ‘chivalric certainty’? OR What does ‘chivalric certainty’ mean to you? OR How do you interpret ‘chivalric certainty’? OR What do you infer from ‘chivalric certainty’? OR How do you explain ‘chivalric ...’?
Q 7 OR c.	What does poet mean ...	What does the poet mean ...
Q 8	Subdivided into 1, 2 and 3	Like Q 7 and 9, it should ideally be subdivided into a. b. and c.
Q 9 c.	How did Douglas overcome the old terror?	... the old terror? (There is no justification for italicizing the phrase as it does not appear exactly like this in the lesson.)
Q 9 d. Do	The crofter can be called as a ... Comment: ‘call’ doesn’t collocate with ‘as’. Give Reason	The crofter can be called a ... Give reasons OR a reason.
Q 9 e.	...three lakhs of rupees... Comment: Interestingly, a/one lakh of ruppes/people etc is correct but not the above.	...three lakh rupees... Refer to OALD OR a good grammar book for the relevant rules.
Q 9 g.	...two reasons because of which it would take... Comment: ‘reason’ doesn’t collocate with ‘because’.	...two reasons why it would take...
Q 10	... reference to the The Last Lesson.	... reference to The Last Lesson.
Q 10 OR Do	beckoned Dr Sadao in helping the... ...helping the injury soldier. ...Hana empathies with...	beckoned Dr Sadao to help ... ...helping the injured soldier. ...Hana empathise with...
Q 11 Do Do	... a human-being. ...fellow-feeling... It is through fellow ... and trust in others that can help reform the society.	... a human being. ...fellow feeling... It is fellow ... and trust in others that can help reform... OR It is through fellow ... and trust in others that we can help reform ...
Q 12 Do	What is the role Dr J Watson in the novel ... What characteristics make him a real assistant as a private investigator?	What is the role of Dr J Watson in the novel... OR What is the role played by Dr J Watson in the novel... What characteristics make him a real assistant to a private investigator?

Please note that I have enumerated above only those errors that are glaring and disconcerting. It is ironical that in the last few years it is the English syllabus that has undergone most of the drastic changes and experimentation and yet one can’t get to see a decent sample paper. I do not mean to demean your achievements as the Head of CBSE; in fact I am all praise for all the good work done by you including involving Trinity College London in the Assessment of Listening and Speaking Skills. (I had suggested such a move in my letter to the Hon. Minister of HRD in my email dated 4 March, 2013.) I think it is time you involved this London-based organization in the editing and supervision of all your English work. I don’t see any reason why a country which can afford to send Moon and Mars Missions can’t afford to hire best English language experts from England for the academic well-being of its millions of students.

With regards

Yours sincerely

H. Pd. Singh

My Letter to the CBSE Chairman

Dear Mr Joshi

I am writing to draw your attention to a serious error found on the hall tickets issued to class 12 students taking their final board exam that is usually held in the month of March every year. As a rule, roll numbers of examinees are written in both figures and words. I have noticed a glaring error in the roll numbers written in words. For instance, someone’s roll number is 530319. This number will be written in words on the CBSE-issued cards as five lacs thirty thousand three hundred nineteen. Please note that the word lacs should be written as lac—just as the words thousand and hundred are written without the letter ‘s’. Please let me add that the use of lacs is, however, justified in a sentence like

“Lakhs of people, including Shiv Sena supporters, thronged the funeral procession of party chief Bal Thackeray in Mumbai on Sunday.” (http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/mumbai-mourns-bal-thackeray-death/1/229680.html)
Whether the CBSE spells this word as lac or lakh, this word can only be written in its singular form on the hall tickets issued to the examinees. I presume this error has remained unnoticed all these years by academics and academicians including experts in mathematics and English. If one may as well point out, neither lac nor lakh is basically an English word, though it has entered English dictionaries as a legitimate Indian English word. I am also writing to the HRD Ministry to request them to take steps to standardize the spelling of this word, if possible.
I wonder if you are aware of my correspondence with Mr M K Arora, Deputy Secretary (coord) and Mr Navin Maini, Research Officer (Technology). Although I have never been thanked by your organization for giving extensive feedback on your English exam papers, as a patriotic Indian I am happy to contribute my bit to the cause of quality education in India.

Yours sincerely

H. Pd. Singh
http://eduspiritual.blogspot.com/

cc. Rajarshi Bhattacharya, Secretary, Department of School Education & Literacy

Errors in Class 12 and Class 10 Question Papers

CBSE Class 12 English (Core) Board 2013 Exam Paper

I am writing this note to point out the following errors in the CBSE class 12 English (Core) question papers (Series SKS 2) used in the examination held on the 1^st of March 2013.

First of all, let me point out a few glaring errors:

Error 1. [Common to all three sets] Question no 3 OR on page 7

‘You are interested in disposing it of as you are going to settle abroad.’

The correct expression will be:

‘You are interested in disposing of it …’

Let me quote just three authentic examples to substantiate my view:

How did they dispose of the body?

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/turkish/dispose

We'll then collect it from your premises and dispose of it, carefully…

http://www.eganwasteservices.co.uk/hazardous-waste.php

Please Dispose of this Carefully

http://madbears.co.uk/please-dispose-of-this-carefully/

Error 2. [Common to all three sets] Question no 8 on page 9

(c) Why does Robert Frost feel that we should not be so ‘single-minded’?

My comment: By putting the word single-minded in quotes the question-setter certainly means that he/she has quoted this word verbatim from Robert Frost’s poem A Roadside Stand, whereas this word appears nowhere in the poem. As a matter of fact, this word appears in Pablo Neruda’s poem Keeping Quiet (part of the syllabus) where he writes:

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,

...

Error 3. [Set Code no 1/2/3] Question no. 13 on page 11

(d) Why had Hana to wash the wounded man herself?

The correct English will be ‘Why did Hana have to …?’

Citation: Why did he have to die?

http://theanguillian.com/2012/04/positive-living-why-did-he-have-to-die/

Other Major & Minor Errors:

Error 4. [Common to all three sets] The last sentence of question no. 2 on page 6 reading passage is:

‘It is suggested that an intake of 40 grams dietary fibres per day is desirable.’

The correct expression will be:

‘…40 grams of dietary fibres….’ [Yet, the better expression will be either ‘It is suggested that people take 40 grams of dietary fibres per day’ OR an intake of 40 grams of dietary fibres per day is desirable.]

Error 5. [Common to all three sets] Question no. 3 on page 7 

(i) notice-board should be correctly written as noticeboard

Citation: the term’s list of lectures has been put on the noticeboard http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/noticeboard?q=noticeboard

(ii) ‘…informing the members regarding a free medical camp…’ should have been better expressed as …informing the members about / of a free medical camp… OR …informing the members that a free medical camp is going to be organized…

Citation: hardly required

Error 6. [Set Code no 1/2/3] Question no. 4 on page 7

‘…awarded a trip to Singapore as well as scholarship for higher studies’ should be correctly written as ‘…as well as a scholarship for higher studies’.

Citation: She won a scholarship to study at Stanford. http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/scholarship

Error 7. [Same set] Question no. 4 OR on page 7

‘…one-act-plays…’  should be ‘…one-act plays…’

Citation: http://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/

…contest for one-act plays in performance throughout England.

Citation: http://www.aetf.org.uk/

Error 8. [Same question]

‘…there was an over-whelming response.’ should be ……an overwhelming response.

There was overwhelming support for our policies

Citation: http://oald8.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/dictionary/overwhelming

Error 9. [Set Code no 1/2/1] Question no. 4 on page 7

‘As School Pupil Leader of …’

My comment: The phrase ‘Pupil leader’ is hardly used in the schools of India or in any part of the world. The phrase used universally is ‘student leader’.

Error 10. [Set Code no 1/2/2] Question no. 12 OR on page 10

‘Did the Governor and his staff finally heave a sigh of relief? Why / Why not?’

My comment: Since the answer of the first part of this question is not explicit from the way the story ends (as it seeks to test the examinee’s skills of extrapolation), the wording of the question ought to be ‘Do you think the Governor and his staff finally heave …? Why / Why not?’

CBSE Class 10 English (Communicative) Board 2013 SA II Exam Paper

Please refer to Question no 15 (C) on page 12 of the CBSE class 10 English (Communicative) question papers (Series RSH/2 Common to all three sets) used in the examination held yesterday (8 March 2013). The question is as follows:

BRUTUS: Then none have I offended. I have done no more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus.

(a) In which…?

(b) How does Brutus justify his action?

(c) What was the immediate reaction of the listeners?

To my mind, question (c) is seriously flawed for the following reasons:

First and foremost, the question is ambiguous as it is not clear whether the question is asking the students to describe listeners’ reaction to Brutus’ statement “Then none have I…” OR to describe listeners’ reaction to Brutus’ justification of his action, which is question (b) cited above.

1. Let us suppose that the question-setter says that he/she wants the students to describe listeners’ immediate reaction to Brutus’ statement “Then none have I…”

My Comment: In that case the question is wrong as in the original text of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Brutus’ statement is not followed by any ‘immediate reaction of the listeners’. What actually follows Brutus’ aforementioned statement is the continuation of his own dialogue which is:

The question of his death is enrolled in the Capitol; his glory not extenuated, wherein he was worthy, nor his offences enforced, for which he suffered death.

And this in turn is followed by the line Enter ANTONY and others, with CAESAR’S body. Thus, there is no ‘immediate reaction’ from the listeners.

2. Let us suppose that the question-setter says that he/she wants the students to describe listeners’ immediate reaction to Brutus’ justification of his action, which is question (b) cited above.

My Comment: That also is impossible because after Brutus finishes justifying his action saying that he slew Caesar as he was ambitious, etc…, he himself asks the listeners:

Who is here so base that would be a bondman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so rude that would not be a Roman? If any, speak; for him have I offended. Who is here so vile that will not love his country? If any, speak; for him have I offended. I pause for a reply.

My Comment: To this the listeners’ immediate reaction is: “None, Brutus, none.” And if that is what the CBSE question-setter wants the examinees to write in answer, then the quotation BRUTUS: Then none have I offended. I have done no more to Caesar than you shall do to Brutus should be replaced in the question paper by Who is here so base that would be a bondman?… Who is here so vile that will not love his country?... I pause for a reply.

To which the listeners’ immediate reaction is: “None, Brutus, none.”

Thus Question (c) is fundamentally flawed.

My letter to CBSE on 8 April 2013

My letter to Mr. Arora written on 8 April 2013

Dear Mr Arora

While I am immensely grateful to the Hon. HRD Minister for considering the issue raised in my letter of 4 March 2013 to him and referring the matter to the CBSE, I thank you for your letter of 3 April 2013 emailed to me on the 4^th of April.

With regard to your first point that it is an established CBSE practice not to change the text (even if it is grammatically wrong) if the source is explicitly mentioned, I beg to differ. What is the use of carrying on with a practice if it ruins the English of one whole new generation of India—the future of our country. However, if the CBSE wants to continue it, there is a solution in the English language practices: just write sic immediately after the error and bracket it—like [sic]—to caution the reader about an inherent error without changing the original text. Example:

‘The school is proud of it's [sic] record of excellence’. [OALD]

While you concede Error 3 pointed out by me, you assert that your ‘more than 10 language experts’ did not find fault with the framing of question papers. This means that these experts do not find anything wrong in the expression ‘You are interested in disposing it of as you …’ in question 3—in spite of the three examples quoted by me from authentic sources. I am credited with a number of corrections in the renowned Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary and a couple of other dictionaries, but I like to describe myself merely as a ‘learner of English’. Your language experts should have the humility to learn new things. If my examples do not satisfy them then the following will probably:

Soon after I received your letter I wrote to the world-renowned linguist, Mr. Michael Quinion (noted for his substantial work on the production of Oxford dictionaries). The following are my query and his brief note in reply:

“Sorry to bother you once again, Mr. Quinion. Please let me know if the following
sentence in an Indian exam paper is correct or incorrect: "You own a
 house, but you want to dispose it of as you are going to settle abroad."
Personally I think it should be "... but you want to dispose of it as..."

For me, your version is correct and the other is definitely wrong. I don't
know of any regional version of English in which it would be acceptable.

--
Michael Quinion
Editor, World Wide Words
Web: http://www.worldwidewords.org

If your language experts are still not convinced, send them to British Council at 17, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi to check with them. If your ‘more than 10 language experts’ are still not impressed enough, it is high time the CBSE replaced its team of language experts with those ones who have a better sense of ethic and integrity and are not victims of self-delusion.

Certainly, I pointed out a few other errors which are minor, viz. one-act-play, etc—they are errors nevertheless.

I never suggested to the Hon. HRD Minister the idea of sending the papers abroad for vetting. First of all, there is a difference between vetting and checking texts for language errors. Secondly, in this electronic age sending written texts abroad is as simple as your forwarding my mail to another of your colleagues in your office. Anyway, that was just one of my suggestions, the other being Hyderabad-based English and Foreign Languages University. Let me today add British Council English language experts in New Delhi to my list.

I am afraid that the CBSE seems to be blithely oblivious to the magnitude of errors in its exam papers. With all humility at my command, I dare say my extensive and meticulous analyses of some of the recently conducted classes 10 and 9 papers and their marking schemes, attached to this mail, prove that your organization has reduced English assessments to a farce.  And why only English! I have seen the Hindi translations of instructions and questions in other subject papers are also full of errors. I can’t explain everything in this letter. I will be in India during May and June. If I am provided with a ticket from Pune to Delhi and accommodation in Delhi I can come over and sit with you and point out a host of desirable changes including the dozens of errors in your English textbooks. I made this offer to your chairman once in 2011 but never heard from him after a computer-generated message that informed me that he would contact me within a week.

I assure you that my letter is bereft of any bias; treat it as a wake-up call.

Regards,

HP Singh