Thiruvananthapuram: In a shocking development, the Kerala University announced the results of BA Malayalam examination without evaluating the answer-sheets and declared all students who appeared at two centres as failed.

Around 100 students who faced mass failure had registered with the School of Distance Education and appeared at two centres for the exam – NSS College, Pandalam, and NSS College, Perayam in Kollam.

The BA Malayalam exam was conducted in April and May this year, and the results published on June 30. While the number of students who score very high scores in Malayalam is often less, a majority of those who appear pass every year.

Chance find

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When the students who appeared at the Pandalam centre noticed that all of them had failed, they checked the university website, which said that they had not appeared for the exam. Subsequently, the students reached NSS College, Pandalam, and checked the attendance register, in which all of them were marked as present for the exam. The students also learnt from the college office that their answer-sheets had not been taken from the exam centre for valuation.

Soon, the students approached the office of the Controller of Examinations at the headquarters of Kerala University in Thiruvananthapuram. Officials at the Exam Controller’s office asked the students to submit fees for revaluation and promised to announce their real results after valuation. However, when the students questioned the officials how revaluation could be carried out without valuation, the latter had no reply.

Around this time, students who appeared at NSS College, Perayam, also reached the Exam Controller’s office. All the students at Perayam also failed. Even though the answer-sheets had been taken from the Perayam centre for valuation, it is learnt that the exercise was not carried out and all the students were declared failed.

The BA Malayalam students said that they had no idea whether students of other courses were similarly deliberately declared as failed.

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When the issue sparked a controversy, top university officials initiated measures to shift the answer-sheets from the centres for valuation on Tuesday.

VC owns up for fiasco

Reacting to the developments, university Vice-Chancellor Dr Mohanan Kunnummal admitted that a major lapse had occurred. “I took up the matter with Exam Controller Dr N Gopakumar and he told me that the university had taken possession of the answer-sheets and started valuation. The results will be published soon,” he said.

“Announcement of the results without carrying out valuation is a big mistake. We will examine whether the lapse occurred on the part of the university officials or college authorities,” the Vice-Chancellor added.

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