MA marks fiasco: JU decides to show-cause assistant prof
Times of India | 20 November 2024
123456 Kolkata: Jadavpur University will send a show cause notice to the assistant professor, whom mass communications MA students blamed for 50 "unchecked" answer scripts. The show-cause decision was taken at a meeting on Tuesday, when the teacher reportedly admitted to his "mistake" in the presence of interim vice-chancellor Bhaskar Gupta and other senior officials. The university also decided to send all the 50 answer papers for re-evaluation.
TOI tried to contact Gupta but he did not respond. An official, however, confirmed the teacher, Abhishek Das, would be issued a show-cause notice for an explanation. "It was decided that all the 50 answer papers would be re-evaluated by an external examiner and results would be published at the earliest," said journalism and mass communication HoD Partha Sarathi Chakraborty.
The fiasco came to light after mass communication PG students received their marks in the media law and ethics paper, which they had appeared for in July. Unhappy with their marks, some students had applied for a review and some had filed RTI queries. "I applied for a review in the media law and ethics paper as I got a backlog," said a student. The students met interim VC Gupta on Monday and learnt the marks in the media law and ethics paper were awarded without the answer scripts being checked. JU officials confirmed they realised Das had turned in unchecked papers after the review and RTI query applications.
An official from the university said, "The assistant professor claimed in the meeting with the VC that he did check all the answer scripts of the second-semester exam and even wrote down the scores on a separate sheet of paper but forgot to write them down on the top sheet of answer scripts." Das claimed, "I replied to the questions I was asked at the meeting. I said the answer papers were checked. I cannot share any more details due to confidentiality. I can only say I will follow the directions from the authorities."
According to an official, the marks in that paper were uploaded through JUMS portal, and the answer scripts, along with a printout generated from the portal, were submitted to the controller's section.
A senior professor said, "According to the rules, examiners are not allowed to write anything on answer papers except the scores on the top sheet. When the scripts are sent for review, the controller section preserves the examiner's top sheet for a fair review."
Interdisciplinary studies, law & management dean Joydeep Mukherjee said, "Action has been taken and we will ensure students don't suffer." JUTA assistant general secretary Rajyeswar Sinha said, "An impartial probe should be conducted to verify the truth, and the answer sheets should be re-evaluated. We are committed to maintaining quality in teaching and evaluation and stand against compromise."
The JU unit of AIDSO wrote to the interim VC, seeking a fair probe.