A Call for Justice: Challenging ZERO Scores in Creative Writing Assessment in GATE/ASET Examination 2025

Zero mark would kill the confidence of the kid and will result in fearfulness when approaching competitive exams.

Department is playing with little minds. They are still very young. This is not an exam for adult. Please understand.

Student should not be getting zero for their attempt unless they handed blank paper. need to give them at least some marks for their attempt.

I am gong to support this petition

1 year ago Featured

This is really shocked to here and heart breaking to hear parents voices about zero. Please review those who affected . Most of them are not poor hand writing, not off track not pre remembered story. Pls provide an guide line for writing marking criteria in gate website

I agree giving zero on idea writing is not the solution. If i am getting a price of paper it’s my idea. Was any details were mentioned that do or don’t. If not then one cannot force to give zero to student

Please change the marking criteria

So far no one knows the reason why children got zero score, parents need to approach GATE department and find out the reason. And Zero score is so abnormal, we expecting GATE department give parents and children a reasonable ground. Without GATE’s official explanation why those children got zero score, parents guessed the reason is “well prepared”. If the reason is “well-prepared”, as long as it is an exam, no matter GATE or what other exams, everyone will prepare for it. “Well-prepared” came from tutoring institutions’ competition, the tutoring became different to what it supposed to be. Parents put the children to these tutoring institutions, those tutoring institution misleading the tutoring for a profit, but what did these children do? What wrong did those children do? Nothing! Those children just listened to their parents and following the instruction of the tutors, now those innocent children are bearing the consequent what adult brought to them, they are too young for it. It might affect children’s mental health and life. I agree with GATE department that there shouldn’t be “well-prepared” for GATE exam tutoring, it is not fair to other children, also high score is not everything. Meanwhile, GATE department should also consider the mental health of the children, the result is not from the children’s intention/purpose, we shouldn’t shift the punishment from those institution and parents to those children who didn’t aware what adult put to them. It is also a kind of unfair to those children. I would say give those children another chance for a makeup writing test, maybe score 90% of what they got in the makeup exam. Tutoring institution a problem for fair exam, it cannot be solved in a short time, but I believe government will find a proper way to solve it without having young children bearing the problem and suffering the consequence.

I think this whole GATE testing system is baseless and without merit. This lacks transparency and accountability. Giving zero to kids is very harsh and unfair.

Unbelievable that someone did something cruel like that to kid

More transparency is needed with clearly marking guidelines!

Zero scores in creative writing demoralize young students, disregarding their effort and creativity, and negatively affecting their motivation and self-esteem. The current scoring guidelines are vague and inconsistently applied, leaving students and parents confused and leading to unfair assessments. We urge the adoption of a clear rubric that values creativity, coherence, and engagement, along with constructive feedback and trained evaluators. We call on the authorities to review current practices and involve students, parents, and educators in creating a fair and encouraging evaluation system.

I am very disappointed with the decision to award a score of zero for the GATE writing task. While I understand that work must be original and related to the prompt, I strongly believe the piece submitted demonstrated a genuine attempt to respond creatively and thoughtfully. Giving a zero without acknowledging the effort or providing detailed feedback feels both discouraging and unfair. Students should be supported in their learning journey—not punished harshly for taking risks or interpreting the prompt differently. I hope the marking criteria can be applied with more nuance and a sense of encouragement for young writers.

Zero score? Not the GATE spirit. GATE seeks potential, not perfection. One bad day shouldn't define a future.Don't "kill" a student's dream. Give a second chance. Focus on overall potential, not a single, harsh score. Reconsider please !!!

Zero scores may broken children's heart. Making them felt disappoint themselves.

Please give the kids some credit for the hard work !

1 year ago Featured

My son got zero for handwriting. He got general score but won’t so bad. This is unfair to those students put big efforts. This is important exam for students zero can’t reflect the standard/skill of a student. Cheers!

Not fair and no evidence

Need a clear standard on this.

It's deeply disheartening for students who have attempted this section to be given a zero on the basis that it was pre planned or AI generated.