Despite GU’s decision to allow access to answer papers under RTI... ... 2 students denied answer books
Mihir Acharya (left) and Palak
Srimali had requested access to answer sheets of subjects in which they had
scored badly as the duo was confident they had done well
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Gujarat University in August had announced that it would allow students
to access answer sheets under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. However, it
seems the examination department of the university is unaware of this decision.
Recently two students, who, after reading of the GU Council’s decision, applied
for access to answer sheets under RTI, were denied permission by the
examination department. Mihir Acharya and Palak Srimali, students of H K Arts College, were dissatisfied by their scores in the final TY BA examination conducted by the university. “I scored 19 in paper 9 – literary criticism. I was sure I would have scored more marks and hence applied for rechecking and re-correction in July. However, on September 10, I received correspondence from the GU saying there would be no change in my scores,” said Mihir. Palak, who had scored 29 in paper 7 (English literature 1901-2000) and 34 in paper 8 (English form of literature), also received a similar reply. “We had read in newspapers that if we asked to see our answer sheets under RTI, then we could get access. We wanted to know what had gone wrong in the paper.
Even if the marks weren’t increased, we wanted to take note of our mistakes. So, on September 26, we filed an RTI,” said Palak. Both, Mihir and Palak are residents of Dholka. The students received a rude shock on October 1 when their request was denied by the examination department. The correspondence sent by the department read, “The matter of giving access to answer sheets through RTI is still being considered by the University council. Till a final decision is taken, we cannot grant you access to answer sheets.” While, the letter has left the students confused, the university’s incharge registrar Arvind Bhandari claimed that university is indeed giving access to answer sheets.
“The final decision on the issue was taken by the council in August. If any department in GU has any confusion regarding the matter, it will be sorted out immediately,” Bhandari said. The decision to release photocopies of answer sheets was taken at a syndicate meeting of GU held on August 18. Acting GU vice-chancellor Mukul Shah had said that the proposal was unanimously accepted. On an average, about 18,000 students who are not satisfied with their marks apply for reassessment and rechecking.
After the decision, students wanting a photocopy of answer sheets would have to pay Rs 20 per paper as RTI fees and pay Rs 2 per page for the photocopy. In August, last year, the Supreme Court had ruled that a certain group of examinees unhappy with scores could ask for their answer sheets under the RTI Act. The group comprised class X and XII students, and those taking entrance exams for professional courses or taking tests for jobs. Abench of Justice R V Raveendran and Justice A K Patnaik was acting on an appeal filed by the CBSE and West Bengal Board of Secondary Education among others. The boards had challenged the rulings of several information commissioners that directed them to show answer sheets to students.http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20121016201210160200154142d984e00/-2-students-denied-answer-books.html
