‘Our papers have not been evaluated, yet marks were given’

MU law students, along with law faculty, contemplate legal action to seek justice; they claim answer papers were checked in erroneous manner or not at all, leading to students losing marks

Mumbai University (MU) on March 24 declared the results for the LLB (3-year course) semester 5, 107 days after the December 2022 examinations, instead of adhering to the mandated 45-day timeframe. Unfortunately, many students who received their results found that they had failed in one or more subjects. Students and faculty members of law schools are claiming that the answer papers were checked in an erroneous manner, leading to students losing marks and even failing, causing distress among the affected individuals.

One such case involves Ashok Roy Chowdhry, 67, a retired banker and law student at Jitendra Chauhan College of Law in Vile Parle. He scored a mere 9 marks out of 60 in the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) written paper for Semester V, despite scoring 32 out of 40 in the viva conducted by his college for the same subject. Chowdhry promptly applied for revaluation and also obtained a photocopy of his answer sheet from MU, only to discover that the paper had not been checked at all, and random standard marks were allegedly allotted. Despite writing a letter to MU, he has received no response, and his revaluation marks have not been declared yet.

A female law student, from a college in Navi Mumbai, also found that her answer sheet had not been corrected at all, with most of her answers marked as Non-Applicable (NA). The law professors of both colleges claimed that answers were up to standard and could have scored above 40 marks in the written paper. Chowdhry, in his letter to MU, expressed being victimised, “I am victimised by the inadequate evaluation system followed by the University, which adversely affects not only my score card but also my academic record over years and my mental peace despite performing to the best of my ability,” he wrote.

Furthermore, Chowdhry claims that his revaluation marks have not been declared by MU, even though two revaluation results have been announced subsequently. Chowdhry has requested MU to investigate his case and, failing that, he plans to approach a judicial forum to seek justice for himself and other students who have been unfairly affected. It is worth noting that neither Chowdhry nor the female student appeared for the ATKT (Allowed To Keep Term) examination for the respective subjects.

What Law College says

Dr Sharmila Ghuga, an associate professor at Jitendra Chauhan College of Law, reviewed Chowdhry's answer sheet and expressed shock at the lack of marks awarded for each answer. She believes that Chowdhry deserves around 40 marks for the paper. Other faculty members who have taught CPC for the past 20 years agree that this is injustice to Chowdhry and that hundreds of students are suffering due to the university’s mechanical approach. They urge the university's faculty, officers, and staff to address these issues and prevent the victimization of students who are not at fault.

Student union reacts

Advocate Siddharth Ingle, founder and president of Maharashtra Students Union (MASU), comments that such errors in the correction of LLB answer sheets are not surprising. He attributes this problem to the lack of full-time teaching faculty and experienced individuals for the OMS (On Marking System) correction method. Ingle has been urging the university to abandon the OMS pattern and reintroduce the central assessment unit, which was effective in the past. However, the reasons for discontinuing the central assessment unit and implementing the OMS system since 2018 remain undisclosed.

The other side

A Mumbai University spokesperson stated that they will soon release another list of revaluation results, and the concerned student will have to wait until then.

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