TIRUPATTUR: Several students of Mazharul Uloom College in Ambur were in for a shock after their report cards displayed failing marks, on Saturday. They alleged that the mass failing was the institute's way of attaining financial gains through retests, and staged a protest on Monday.
The college, affiliated with Thiruvalluvar University, consists of 900 students in eight departments. The protest was initiated by students pursuing B A in Corporate Economics. They were joined by others. The students said some departments saw only two or three students passing all subjects, while a couple of other departments have not witnessed a single all-pass result.
A third-year student pursuing Corporate Economics said, "It seems like these failings are deliberate. This would compel students to opt for re-evaluation, which in turn generates income for the institution. We observed a similar pattern last year when our seniors had accumulated arrears. This semester, our department does not have a single student, who has passed in all subjects."
Another student called out discrepancies in the evaluation process. "If a student scored 23 out of 25 marks in the internal assessment, it's highly unlikely for them to score anything less than 10 marks in the external exam. "Although I cleared all the major subjects with good marks, I have a supplementary in an optional subject. I'm sure there are some issues in the evaluation process."
In addition to this, students also complained of errors in the calculation of marks. As a result, their final grade shows that they have failed even though they have scored well above the passing marks. Some students also expressed concerns about technical glitches during fee payment. Instances of unsuccessful payment despite the fee amount being debited are abundant. To make matters worse, the extra amount has not been credited back to some students due to server errors.
When questioned, the Vice-Chancellor of Tiruvalluvar University said, "The evaluation process is not manual. If students are confident about their scores then they have the option to request for a re-evaluation."