Mumbai University evaluators not punished for wrong marking: RTI query

TNN | Oct 3, 2018, 04.32 AM IST

 

MUMBAI: While a large number of Mumbai University students are erroneously failed each year, requiring them to apply for re-evaluation, no action seems to be initiated against paper checkers. An RTI query has revealed that the university, between 2015 and 2018, did not take any action against defaulting evaluators for failing students, who were found to pass after applying for re-evaluation. 

In March 2017, TOI reported that between 2014 and 2016, 73,000 students were wrongly failed in examinations but cleared the red after they filed for revaluation.

The RTI application, filed by activist Vihar Durve, has also revealed that there is a provision for action against erring evaluators in the Maharashtra Public University Act, 2016.

According to section 48 of the act, the board of examinations and evaluation shall constitute a committee of not more than five persons to investigate and take disciplinary action for malpractice or lapses on the part of candidates, paper-setters, examiners, moderators, referees and teachers who are connected with the conduct of the examination. The committee must submit its report to the vice-chancellor, who can instruct the authorities to take disciplinary action.

Durve said, "A student's career depends on the marks they score during their years at the university. Also, several times, revaluation results come much after students take the supplementary examinations. All of these things put students through great agony and hence paper checkers must be made accountable. Until that is done, there will be no onus on examiners to ensure there isn't a mistake during evaluation."

He has also demanded that the university return the revaluation fees to students who are failed wrongly. "The university collects crores from re-evaluation applications and must not be able to get away with it," he added.