Can show you answers, not marks
After info panel’s order, GU showed photocopies of TYBA answer sheets to two students unhappy with the results, but placed stickers on marks scored for individual answers
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, November 21, 2012 http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20121121201211210158388203d944c6f/Can-show-you-answers-not-marks.html
So, Gujarat University can play pranks, too. Just that this one may stir up a hornet’s nest. After intervention by Gujarat Information Commission, GU finally showed photocopies of the answer sheets to two TYBA students who were dissatisfied with their scores.
But the episode turned out to be a damp squib. In what came as a shock to the students, GU had pasted stickers on the marks given to them for each answer, saying they can go through their answers but cannot be shown the marks!
That defied the purpose behind the students seeking access to their answer sheets. And all this, after the students paid Rs 80 as xerox charges to GU to view the photocopies of the answer papers. Mihir had scored 19 marks in Literary Criticism while Palak scored 29 in English literature and 34 in another English paper.
Since the marks were way below their expectations, they applied for re-checking in September. But GU maintained there would be no change in their scores. Aware of the Right To Information Act, the students then filed an RTI application with the university seeking “certified copies of evaluated answer sheets of Third-Year Bachelor of Arts paper”.
The university replied that the matter was under consideration by the executive council and the answer sheets will be shown only after a decision was taken. So Mihir and Palak approached the information panel recently. The panel observed that the evaluated answer sheets fall under the “records” category in the definition of “information” under the RTI Act and so the students have the right to see their answer sheets.
Following the panel’s order, GU wrote to the students that they could see the photocopies of the answer sheets after paying the xerox charges and producing a receipt of the same. On Monday, Palak and Mihir paid Rs 80 each at the university office and went to the examination department with the receipt to take a look at the evaluated answer sheets.
But they realised that their ordeal was not over yet. “It is with great difficulty that we managed to get Gujarat University’s examination department to show us our papers. We wanted to know how many marks we had scored per answer. But the varsity had pasted stickers on the marks of individual answers. Don’t we know what we have written in the paper? We obviously did not pay Rs 80 to read our answers,” said Mihir.
“We told the officials that we wanted to know what we had scored for every answer. But they refused, saying it was not possible. We are left with no choice but to approach the information commission again,” said Palak. GU registrar Arvind Bhandari said, “Both the students had applied for reassessment. The paper was therefore assessed again by another examiner.
As a rule, we hide the marks given by the first evaluator so that the second evaluator can assess the answer sheet freely. I believe stickers would have been placed only on the marks given by the first evaluator and not the second. If students have any confusion, they can come and meet me.”
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, November 21, 2012 http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/20121121201211210158388203d944c6f/Can-show-you-answers-not-marks.html
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| A sticker placed on the marks scored |
So, Gujarat University can play pranks, too. Just that this one may stir up a hornet’s nest. After intervention by Gujarat Information Commission, GU finally showed photocopies of the answer sheets to two TYBA students who were dissatisfied with their scores.
But the episode turned out to be a damp squib. In what came as a shock to the students, GU had pasted stickers on the marks given to them for each answer, saying they can go through their answers but cannot be shown the marks!
That defied the purpose behind the students seeking access to their answer sheets. And all this, after the students paid Rs 80 as xerox charges to GU to view the photocopies of the answer papers. Mihir had scored 19 marks in Literary Criticism while Palak scored 29 in English literature and 34 in another English paper.
Since the marks were way below their expectations, they applied for re-checking in September. But GU maintained there would be no change in their scores. Aware of the Right To Information Act, the students then filed an RTI application with the university seeking “certified copies of evaluated answer sheets of Third-Year Bachelor of Arts paper”.
The university replied that the matter was under consideration by the executive council and the answer sheets will be shown only after a decision was taken. So Mihir and Palak approached the information panel recently. The panel observed that the evaluated answer sheets fall under the “records” category in the definition of “information” under the RTI Act and so the students have the right to see their answer sheets.
Following the panel’s order, GU wrote to the students that they could see the photocopies of the answer sheets after paying the xerox charges and producing a receipt of the same. On Monday, Palak and Mihir paid Rs 80 each at the university office and went to the examination department with the receipt to take a look at the evaluated answer sheets.
But they realised that their ordeal was not over yet. “It is with great difficulty that we managed to get Gujarat University’s examination department to show us our papers. We wanted to know how many marks we had scored per answer. But the varsity had pasted stickers on the marks of individual answers. Don’t we know what we have written in the paper? We obviously did not pay Rs 80 to read our answers,” said Mihir.
“We told the officials that we wanted to know what we had scored for every answer. But they refused, saying it was not possible. We are left with no choice but to approach the information commission again,” said Palak. GU registrar Arvind Bhandari said, “Both the students had applied for reassessment. The paper was therefore assessed again by another examiner.
As a rule, we hide the marks given by the first evaluator so that the second evaluator can assess the answer sheet freely. I believe stickers would have been placed only on the marks given by the first evaluator and not the second. If students have any confusion, they can come and meet me.”
