73,000 students passed after re-evaluation; no action against teachers: RTI

An RTI query had revealed more than 2 lakh students had applied for re-evaluation of papers to the University of Mumbai between April 2014 and August 2016

Even after knowing that one in every three students who had applied for re-evaluation between April 2014 and August 2016 were wrongly failed, the University of Mumbai has not yet taken any punitive action against teachers.

Officials from the University of Mumbai said action cannot be taken in such cases as the purpose of re-evaluation is to give another chance to a student. (HT file)

The university’s reply to an application under Right to Information (RTI) Act has revealed that the university has not used provisions under the new Maharashtra Public Universities Act 2016 to punish teachers.

Not a single examiner has been booked under the law.

“What’s the use of having rules and regulations when the university is not implementing it? Lakhs of students are suffering because of the attitude of teachers towards paper assessment and in some cases, the re-evaluation results are delayed so students end up appearing for repeater exams only to find that they had cleared the paper in the first attempt itself,” said Vihar Durve, a city-based RTI activist who filed an application.

An RTI query had revealed more than 2 lakh students had applied for re-evaluation of papers to the University of Mumbai between April 2014 and August 2016. Almost 73,000 students found out that they passed after re-evaluation. This means almost 30% students passed a paper after being marked “fail” in their papers. “There is no form of refund given to students who were wrongly failed, nor are teachers being punished. How will this ever end?” said Durve.

According to figures revealed in another RTI filed by Durve in 2016, between April 2013 and March 2014, MU earned Rs2.67 crore from re-evaluation and Rs15.63 lakh from photocopies of answer booklets. In the next two academic sessions, it collected over Rs4.8 crore for re-evaluation fee and Rs25.3 lakh for photocopies.

Officials from the University of Mumbai told HT that action cannot be taken in such cases as the purpose of re-evaluation is to give another chance to a student.

Arjun Ghatule, director of Board of Examinations and Evaluation, said the clause in the State Universities Act is misinterpreted. “If a student passed an exam after reevaluation doesn’t mean it’s the fault of the previous examiner/moderator. Re-evaluation is meant to assess papers with a new perspective and if students pass, it’s the advantage they get,” he said, adding that they cannot punish teachers for such issues.