THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The recent incident in which a section officer of the University of Kerala was suspended for tampering with the marks of a student seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. An internal inquiry by the varsity has revealed that marks of at least 74 students of final semester Career-Related Degree courses have been altered in a similar manner.
TNIE accessed the inquiry report, which stated that discrepancies were found in the marks entered online and in the mark sheets of 74 students. The varsity is conducting further verification to find out if more such instances have occurred.
The section officer was suspended on January 20, pending an inquiry, after being accused of willfully entering incorrect marks in a student’s mark list. Discrepancies were found in seven of the student’s supplementary exam results. The matter came to light when the student applied for the mark sheet, thereby indicating internal tampering.
According to the inquiry report, some of the students who were called for a hearing said the section officer in question expressed his willingness to help them and even collected bribes from them. The report has been submitted before the syndicate for further action.
Sources in the university said providing section officers direct access to the exam tabulation software led to the malpractice. “Earlier, when marks needed to be altered, only the director of the computer centre could do so as per the directions of the controller of examinations. Now, section officers can alter the marks not only of their section but of others as well by misusing their login credentials,” said a senior official of the varsity.
Last year, irregularities were found in the moderation marks awarded to 380 students. An inquiry by the varsity found that a ‘software error’ was the reason for the fiasco. Though the varsity approached police for a inquiry, files in connection with the malpractice are yet to be handed over.