Ranchi, May 29: Chronic inefficiency of the Ranchi University’s examination department has once again given rise to a piquant situation.

Around 190 examinees of BSc (Zoology Honours) of Ranchi Women’s College (RWC) claim that on Thursday they were forced to answer questions framed from the “new syllabus” which they had not followed for the fifth paper.

Protests by them led to the distribution of a fresh set of question papers from the “old syllabus”. However, the respite was short-lived as these question papers were soon taken back and examinees were asked to follow the original “out of syllabus” questions.

These examinees are now demanding that they be allowed to appear for the fifth paper again.

Pro-vice chancellor Anand Bhushan confirmed the mix-up and said corrective steps are being taken to ensure that such mistakes do not occur again.

The mistake apparently occurred because the university failed to communicate “minor changes” made in the syllabus to majority of the colleges.

When the university eventually detected the mix-up, it found that some colleges had followed the new syllabus while others had followed the old one. It therefore decided to hold the examination with the help of two sets of question papers.

What remains unexplained is why, in that case, examinees at the St Xavier’s College centre were distributed the wrong set of questions; and why, thereafter, the right set of questions was withdrawn after being distributed.

Also unexplained is how and why the faux pas occurred at this solitary centre.

Even more importantly, it raises questions about the uniformity of examinations. How does the university expect to evaluate examinees answering two different sets of questions?

RWC examinees complained that they are neither in a position to lobby for a re-examination nor can they concentrate on preparations for the remaining papers.

An examinee said the invigilators and officials present at the examination centre behaved rudely with them and refused to allow “extra time” which had been promised to compensate for the confusion and loss of time.

A few other examinees also claimed that contrary to the claim of Ranchi University officials, there were substantial differences between the old and the new courses. “Our greatest worry now is whether they are going to repeat the same thing in the remaining papers,” said one of them.

The issue, said the pro-vice chancellor, is being referred to the examination board and a decision will be taken soon.