The Central Information Commission (CIC) has recommended that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) introduce a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to set clear deadlines for providing marks or answer sheets when students request them.The recommendation came while deciding an appeal filed by a class 12 student who sought her assessment records used to prepare the 2021 board exam results after the exams were canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The student alleged that the errors in the assessment process caused him “mental agony and depression” for which he had to undergo therapy.Information Commissioner Sudha Rani Relangi said, “It is the dire need of today’s scenario that CBSE should bring in a standard operating procedure (SOP) governing the deadlines for sending/providing marks or answer sheet on the request of students.”The CIC added, “This will be an effective step to prevent any unwarranted situation of this nature of hardship faced by the appellant in this matter, from affecting young minds.”The commission has “strongly recommended” under Section 25(5) of the RTI Act that CBSE prepare the SOP and ensure that “such information related to the policy is disclosed on its official website”.A copy of the order has been sent to the CBSE secretariat for necessary action. The First Appellate Authority has also been directed to submit a compliance report within four weeks.On the student’s complaint, the commission said, “the denial of the appellant’s own assessment marks in any format by the CPIO (central public information officer) is against the spirit of the RTI Act, 2005.”The CIC noted that while the student’s challenge to his evaluation is pending before the high court, the CPIO “should have addressed the appellant’s concern” by providing information related to his own evaluation after removing details of other candidates that are exempt from disclosure under the RTI Act.The commission directed the CBSE CPIO to provide the student, free of cost, with a revised answer along with the permitted information, including his assessment marks in the tabular format requested in his RTI application.The student had sought the tabulation sheet of five subjects under CBSE’s special assessment policy introduced after the cancellation of the 2021 class 12 board exams due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the hearing, he argued that he had a right to know how his assessment was prepared and that the RTI Act did not prevent disclosure of his own records.