Karnataka PU results: Faulty results, revaluation costs leave students furious

Bengaluru: Hundreds of students gathered at the PU board office in Malleswaram in the city, to protest the discrepancies in the examination results. Some students from Deeksha College were alleging that even though they had secured above 90% marks in all the other subjects, in Mathematics they were awarded less marks. Few were even shown as ‘fail’ even though they had secured above 80 per cent marks in the rest of the subjects such as Physics, Chemistry and Biology, etc.

Rangappa Sunagar, a resident of Kalaburgi alleged that even though his son had attended all the examinations, he was shown as absent in two papers. "I am a daily wage worker. My son is very much upset and depressed. I am staying in the city for the past three days seeking justice. But the officials have no answer other than suggesting that we apply for a revaluation. I am not in a position to pay the hefty fee fixed for the revaluation," he said.

Tense moments: Most of the agitators who participated in Thursday's protest were holding a protest since Tuesday. "CET results will be announced on May 26. If the PU department does not rectify the mistake immediately, it would have an impact on the CET ranking. Revaluation and retotalling take time. Why should I pay for the mistake of the valuators?” questioned Mr. Kumar Hegde, who is camping in Bengaluru since Tuesday to find a solution to his marks problem.

When students were not given any assurance over the resolving of their problems, a few of them tried to barge into the department office. Immediately the police rushed and stopped them, leading to a mild verbal dual. The police used force to disperse the crowd. The department gates were then locked, to stop the students from rushing inside.

Students who met the PU commissioner Mrs. Sushma Godbole alleged that except for assurances, she didn't give them any time-bound solution to their problems or take any concrete action. "The PU department is playing with out fate," said a student. According to the PU department officials, at this stage the students could get solutions to their problems only if they applied for a revaluation or retotaling after securing the photocopies.

"There is no fault in the protest of the students. But the need of the hour is strict action against the erring officials. Many students are alleging that even though they attended the examination, the results showed that they were absent. It is nothing but carelessness on the part of the officials/ valuators.” informed an officer.

Director of PU Board Sushma Godbole tries to pacify parents (Photo: R. Samuel)

Official apathy

The main allegation of the students is that even though they are protesting since Tuesday, the PU board commissioner Mrs. Sushma Godbole as well as the other senior officials are not responding to them properly.

"On Thursday too she was not ready to listen to our complaints. She met us for few minutes and left. Later she spoke to a few selected students. Every student is facing a different problem. But the only solution offered by the officials is that everything would be rectified after the revaluation. But students are not in a position to pay the amount. So things are taking an ugly turn.” said an agitator.

Why do students want immediate action?

According to the agitating students, as per the revised fee, for the photocopy of an answer script the PU department is charging Rs. 504, for a revaluation Rs.1,260 and for retotaling Rs. 336. As they have to apply for the photocopies first before thinking about applying for revaluation/ retotaling, they need around Rs.2,000 per subject to view their papers. It is not affordable to the majority of the students.

According to the students, the department needs a minimum of one and half months to complete the process of re-valuation and retotaling. They want prompt action.