Out-of-syllabus questions, improper allocation of marks and shortage of question papers — glitches galore seem to have become the hallmark of examinations conducted by Ranchi University of late.
For, over half a dozen examinations ran into controversies in the past couple of months with candidates complaining about several mistakes in the question papers. In fact, two days ago, MBBS Part-I examinees staged a walkout within minutes of of the exam starting, alleging that questions were out of syllabus. The students complained that despite informing authorities, no one paid heed.
Engineering, law, certain papers of BA/BSc Part-II and BEd exams also witnessed similar glitches, prompting the university to conduct the tests for the second time.
“Conducting examinations is no joke. But the examination department has not learnt a lesson from past mistakes,” a senior professor of the university, not willing to be named, said. He added that despite the current examination controller, A.K. Mahto, holding the post for close to a decade, such mistakes continued to happen. “Out-of-syllabus questions and shortage of answer booklets and question papers are the two common problems,” the professor said.
“Question paper setters should be armed with the updated syllabi, previous year’s question banks et al. But most of the times, co-ordinators of the examination department fail to pass on the right references to question paper setters, which causes chaos,” said another senior professor.
He suggested that the university should follow a proper system for selecting question paper setters instead of just going by seniority.
Although the examination controller couldn’t be contacted despite repeated attempts, pro-vice chancellor V.P. Sharan said: “I don’t see any fault with the examination department. We follow necessary procedures while framing the questions and conducting the examinations,” Sharan said.
“Every year, there is a problem whenever we conduct examinations. Be it RIMS (medical), Cambridge Institute of Technology (CIT for engineering) or the law academy (law) — the institute do not complete the syllabi. Rather than questioning their teachers, students target us,” he said.
According to Sharan, rules say that even if there are mistakes in the question papers, students ought to sit in the hall for an hour at least. “But recently, students walked out. The university can mark them absent,” he said.
However, he added that the examination board met every Saturday to address complaints regarding exams and they would try to chalk out measures to improve the system for the better.
