THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Close on the heels of the row over illegal modification of moderation marks, Kerala University has landed in yet another controversy.
It has now come to light that over 700 candidates managed to obtain over 10 per cent more marks in various exams through revaluation after the Syndicate decided to do away with the norm of the third valuation by amending the varsity rules.
Hundreds of candidates who failed various semesters of LLB, BTech and BA examinations, managed to pass the exams with high marks in the process.
A third valuation is carried out when the variation in marks between the first and re-valuation is more than 10 per cent. After the third valuation, the average of the nearest two marks is awarded to the candidate.
This practice, laid down in the examination manual, was done away with by the Syndicate, in June 2019. Interestingly, the Syndicate had only LDF government nominated members when the amendment was carried out.
Speaking about the controversy, Vice-Chancellor, University of Kerala VP Mahadevan Pillai said that 'The decision to do away with third valuation for a brief period was taken due to the huge backlog of results that were pending for years. Due to this decision, many delayed exam results could be published.'
Amendment revoked
In the wake of the recent controversy over illegal modification of moderation marks, the new practice of considering the first revaluation marks as final marks was done away with and third valuation norm was restored.
Even though this was done with retrospective effect, the University did not take any steps to cancel the marks obtained by students during this period.
'The varsity's reluctance to cancel the marks gives rise to suspicion that the arrangement was done for a brief period to facilitate a few students to easily pass the examination,' said a source.
While around 400 candidates secured above 10 per cent marks, another 300 managed to fetch over 20 per cent marks when the first revaluation marks were accepted as final marks.
As per rules, a teacher, who carried out the valuation can be fined between Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000 if a variation of over 20 per cent occurs during revaluation. But no attempts have been made to fine the errant teachers.
Meanwhile, the candidates who benefited from the Syndicate decision have downloaded their revaluation mark lists, which the varsity is supposed to cancel in the wake of the third valuation norm being restored.
There are reports that these candidates are now exerting pressure on the Vice-Chancellor and Syndicate members not to cancel their revaluation marks.
Interestingly, after the moderation marks fiasco, the University is yet to begin cancelling the degree certificates of candidates who benefited from what the University termed as a "software error".