The Hindu: Chennai: Monday, June 12, 2017.
With Anna
University having released exam results on Friday, thousands of students are
likely to apply for revaluation and review, bringing crores of Rupees in
revenue to the university’s coffers.
A response to
a Right to Information (RTI) query by a former student of the university has
revealed that the institution received as many as 18,13,600 answer scripts for
revaluation and review over eight semesters between November 2012 and April
2016.
Over this
period, the university received payments amounting to Rs. 71.62 crore for
carrying out revaluation and Rs. 6.87 crore for review.
Students have
long been complaining about the evaluation standards at the university as they
end up spending a fortune on photocopies, revaluation and then review.
This has been
a cause of concern for students and parents alike, as a good academic track
record is essential for a good placement.
The
university allows students to get a photocopy of their answer sheets before
applying for revaluation.
According to
the RTI reply, the Anna University has earned a revenue of Rs. 54.13 crore from
photo copies in the same period.
Karthi
Natarajan, a graduate of the Anna University's constituent college in Panruti,
said that in his RTI query, he had sought access to details about the amount
spent on revaluation department-wise, which was denied.
A senior
professor at the university said that about 40% of students who take the exams
would seek revaluation. And of those who seek revaluation, the RTI reply
reveals that about 60% end up securing higher marks.
Chance of
error
According to
university officials, there is a 5-10% chance of error in evaluation, given the
large volume of students.
“Each teacher
corrects as many as 30 papers in three hours. An examiner spends around eight
hours a day correcting papers,” an official said.
University
officials admit that there could be lapses in the way the papers are evaluated,
and that it could lead to rare instances of students receiving very high or
very low marks during revaluation.
“Around 1.5
lakh students take the exams each year. Each student would be appearing for
eight subjects, barring arrears,” said the Controller of Examination, G.V. Uma.
If the
difference between the original score and the revaluation score exceeds 15
marks, the paper is sent for another round of evaluation.
“The highest
mark is awarded to the candidate,” explained a professor.
“Theoretically,
we should take action against erring teachers, but we do not go that far as the
students are our primary concern,” said a professor.
Pattern of
evaluation
The answer
sheets of students of affiliated colleges, which form the largest chunk, are
evaluated by a pool of professors from the affiliated colleges.
Anna
University professors only evaluate the papers of students of the university’s
departments.
Unsatisfied
with the revaluation, as many as 19,793 candidates had applied for review during
the period covered by the RTI reply.
A candidate
can apply for review only after revaluation.
Even after
review, 5-10% of the students are still dissatisfied, and approach the
university for further review, officials said.
Mr. Natarajan
also sought to know how much the examiners were paid to correct answer papers
and how much the university spent on improving infrastructure in constituent
colleges. He was told that the institution paid a teacher Rs. 20 per paper and
that the university spent around Rs. 381 crore on the 16 campuses attached to
the institution.
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