Kerala University Hold MBA Students Re-Examination After Loss of Answer Sheets

Updated on Apr 04, 2025 11:51

Kerala University has ordered 71 MBA students from five colleges to retake their third-semester Project Finance paper, originally held in May 2024, after their answer scripts were lost during transit in Palakkad.

Kolkata: Kerala University on Tuesday admitted shortcomings in its examination process after several answer sheets from last year's MBA exams were lost.

To address this issue, the university will hold a re-examination on April 07, 2025, with an additional opportunity on April 22, 2025, for students of MBA unable to appear on the first date. The special tests will be conducted across seven colleges, allowing students to select the nearest exam centre for them.

The university confirmed that, the teacher responsible for the missing answer sheets will be barred from exam-related duties. Stricter disciplinary action, including possible suspension, is also under consideration.

Vice-Chancellor (in-charge) Mohanan Kunnummal stated that the third-semester results would be declared within three to four days of the re-examination. Meanwhile, evaluation of the fourth-semester exams is ongoing and expected to be completed within a month.

Earlier, affected students had demanded that their marks be calculated based on their previous exam averages, avoiding a retest. However, the university rejected the proposal, arguing that it could harm future academic prospects and unfairly benefit those who had failed earlier attempts.

Frustrated MBA students have announced plans to pursue legal action against Kerala University, claiming they were not consulted before the decision to conduct re-exams was made. Many affected students, who completed their courses last year, are now working outside Kerala or abroad, making it difficult for them to appear for the short-notice retests.

Prof. Kunnummal acknowledged systemic failures at the university, revealing that answer sheets were evaluated seven months post-exam. Despite a teacher reporting the lost papers on January 14, the university took two months to respond - a delay attributed to bureaucratic inefficiencies in the institution's processes.

To improve its examination system, the university announced three major reforms: implementing daily oversight to quickly identify and resolve exam-related problems, empowering the Controller of Examinations with greater authority for prompt decision-making, and launching a digital on-screen evaluation platform within the next year. These measures aim to streamline processes and prevent future administrative failures.

Prof. Kunnummal pointed out that teachers from self-financing colleges often refuse to evaluate answer sheets because they are not paid for this work. This problem arose from UGC rules that prevent paying teachers who already receive UGC-scale salaries-a policy wrongly extended to underpaid faculty in unaided colleges. Additionally, some colleges cut teachers' wages on days they spend evaluating papers. As a result, many teachers take answer sheets home to assess them, creating risks for courses like MBA, LLB, and B.Tech, which are mainly run by self-financing colleges.

To resolve the issue, university will now offer remuneration to teachers for checking exam papers and will handle all evaluations at one central place. However, the pro-Left Syndicate contested the assertion of institutional failure, asserting that the university had managed the situation appropriately.

Also Read: