Engg answer sheet scam may delay varsity results
MUMBAI: The reshuffle of the Mumbai university (MU) staff, in the wake of the engineering answer sheet scam that came to light last week, is likely to delay the results of engineering as well as other degree courses.
After it was found that MU employees allowed some firstyear engineering students to rewrite their answer sheets, 69 staff members – 59 on contract and 10 permanent employees – who were involved in the centralized assessment process were transferred and replaced with staff from other departments. Moreover, the police investigating team stalled the daily assessment work last week.
“The assessment of answer papers for all faculties has been affected because of the transfer of employees. The results of all departments may be delayed by a week,” said MA Khan, MU registrar.
Exams for most under-graduate courses, including all selffinanced courses, were held in April. The exams of bachelor of arts (BA) programme were planned in away that the answer sheet assessment could be completed within a month. Similarly, BA examinations were planned well in advance so all papers could be assessed within a month. Exams for masters programme were conducted till mid-May.Results for most undergraduate programmes are usually released in the second or third week of June.
“While changes are being implemented, we are trying to ensure it doesn’t affect other students. The assessment is going on and the aim is to announce the results on time. However, the results for some branches of engineering might be delayed,” said Khan.
“Along with the transfers, other changes, too, are being made. Internal transfers are being carried out on a daily basis,” said an official, on condition anonymity.
The scam was unearthed on May 21, after the Bhandup police arrested eight university employees with answer sheets that were supposed to be in the examination house at Kalina campus. Within two days, the management council of the university decided to transfer employees from the centralised assessment process. While the police inquiry is on, a fact-finding committee has been set up by the university to conduct a parallel probe into the matter.
In a statement to the media l ast week, university vicechancellor Sanjay Deshmukh admitted there is a possibility that more MU employees may be involved in the scam. Other than engineering examination results, the investigation has hit the work of other departments t oo. “We are t rying to avoid delays. Even if the process gets delayed, it’ll not be more than a week or so,” said Khan.
While the university has shared the details of 97 engineering students with t he police, an i nquiry by t he university has revealed 31 more answer sheets, mostly of applied mathematics, are missing. “We have shared this information with the police and hoping they can help us,” he said.