Did univ students mix up exam dates?

Mumbai University MA students studying the old course get question paper an hour late; officials say they misread timetable - paper was for those studying the revised course

Did univ students mix up exam dates?

Mumbai University MA students studying the old course get question paper an hour late; officials say they misread timetable - paper was for those studying the revised course

Mumbai University students who went to give the second part of their Marathi MA paper at exam centres in the city yesterday were in for a tumultuous three hours. They sat for over an hour and did not receive their paper. These were students who had studied the old course books, and they waited for the old course exam papers to arrive. The students who had studied the revised course, however, got their papers on time, and wrote the exam. Officials from colleges where the exam was being held alleged that authorities at the University of Mumbai forgot to send the old course paper for MA Part-II Marathi to the examination centres, causing considerable confusion in the exam halls.u00a0

A professor of a college in the central suburbs said, "There was chaos in the classroom when students of the old course informed the invigilators that they should be given the old course paper and not revised." He continued, "As the revised course students started writing their paper, the old course students waited for an hour to get it. We had to inform the university that they forgot to send the old course papers. They immediately started printing the papers and sent it to us. Many colleges faced this problem, where students had to wait for one-and-a-half hours to get the paper."

'Misunderstanding'
But university officials say yesterday's exam was only for those who had studied the new course books; the old course students must have misread the timetable. The students of MA Part-II Marathi paper was slated yesterday from 3 pm till 6 pm according to officials. There were revised course students and old course students who came for the exam. Both were handed out the revised course paper, as there was no other paper.

Seeing the revised paper, old course students panicked and created a nuisance in the centers, which led college officials to call the university and ask for the old course paper. The university officials in the absence of Controller of Examination, and without seeing the timetable, started sending sets of old course papers to them.

The Other Side
However, Vilas Shinde, controller of examination, Mumbai University, said, "There was no paper for old course students today. The error was on the part of the students, not the university. I have checked the timetable. Nowhere does it say that today is the Marathi exam for MA Part-II fro old course students." He added, "One or two centres called my office. Since I was not there, my officials panicked and sent the old course paper to them. I believe these students must be from distance learning centres, and must have mistakenly thought that today is their exam. We will enquire into the matter."u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0