Answersheets lost, Punjabi varsity to re-conduct exam

Gagan K Teja

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 5

In a major upset for about 100 students of the Basic and Applied Sciences Department of Punjabi University, the department has lost the answersheets of re-appear exam conducted by the department on January 14.

The department has decided to re-conduct the examination claiming that the answersheets had been stolen, but the students are highly perturbed over the development.

The department had put up a notice on its notice board that reads, “The department had conducted Applied Mathematics-1 Internal reappear exam of the first semester of Bachelors of Applied Sciences on January 14, but on January 15, the answersheets were stolen. The department had constituted a committee to investigate the same and it has decided to re-conduct the exam on February 9”.

The move has invited the wrath of the students, who claim that it was a sheer negligence on part of the department to lose answersheets.

“We were informed that someone broke open the lock of the room where the answersheets were kept and escaped. This is very irresponsible. How can the authorities keep the answersheets at such an unsafe place?” a student said.

A final-year student said it was a reappear exam and he had worked really hard to once again revise the entire syllabus to take the exam.

“Now, we are hanging midway and have been asked to take the exam once again out of the blue,” he said.

However, one of the students raised suspicion that the incident had something to do with some problem among teachers claiming that it was unlikely that a student could take a risk of stealing the answersheets from a teacher’s room.

Meanwhile, an official admitted that the answersheets had been stolen, but refused to give further details.

“We have postponed the exam on date and we are in talks with our senior functionaries over the issue. The final decision will be announced soon,” he said.