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Pune varsity hikes price of re-evaluation, photocopy of answer sheets; move opposed
Students of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) opting for re-evaluation will have to pay Rs 50 extra from the upcoming March-April examinations as per notification on the university website
Students of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) opting for re-evaluation will have to pay Rs 50 extra from the upcoming March-April examinations as per notification on the university website.
According to the website update, the revised charges for photocopying the answersheet will be Rs 200 for vocational courses and Rs 150 for non-commercial courses, while for re-evaluation of an answer paper, the charges applicable will be Rs 250 for vocational courses and Rs 200 for non-professional courses.
Vivek Velankar, RTI activist and founder, Sajag Nagrik Manch, has objected to the same and has written a letter to Nitin Karmalkar, vice-chancellor, SPPU, to look at offering a consolidating price for both photocopying and revaluation.
“The fact that the cost of photocopying has two prices for commercial and non-commercial courses, itself is illogical and after applying for photo copy, it takes a month to reach the student and post that if the student was to apply for re-evaluation, it will take more time,” said Velankar.
“Is SPPU looking at returning the fees if there is a mistake in the marks which is actually the fault of the university and its professors? This can create psychological distress for students. Hence, we request that the fee hike be revoked immediately, the photocopy fee of the professional and non-professional courses should be brought to the same level, removing the unfair and scrupulous condition that photocopy should be taken for the first time while applying for re-evaluation and if the student's marks were changed while checking the original paper during photocopy or re-evaluation,”added Velankar.
Mahesh Kakade, director, board of examinations and evaluation, SPPU, said, “The change and the notification is already posted on the university’s website. This decision is taken by the board of examinations and then submitted to the management council. We have approximately 40,000 students applying for photocopying, re-evaluation and verification and the operational costs need to be charged. It is common practice that while requesting for a photocopy, the answer sheet is verified and evaluated before handing it to the student. This process takes time and human resources and hence, almost a month to release the copies.”
A Alwin, a student of Communications department, SPPU, said, “Price for re-evaluation and photocopying to be paid in total will be Rs 300, but that is still reasonable as compared to engineering where students are charged Rs 500 for re-checking per exam.”
