CU racing against time for publishing results

Mou Chakraborty
Kolkata, March 2, 2007

After the Assembly elections sent the Calcutta University (CU) examination schedule haywire last year, this time it is a UGC directive on early publication of results that has left the varsity fighting for time.
The UGC on Monday asked all universities and colleges across the country to adopt a uniform academic calendar and asked them to publish all undergraduate and postgraduate results by the last week of June so that classes could begin by the first week of August. The order was issued after the Supreme Court asked the UGC to bring parity in the academic calendar of all universities.
But the CU feels it is impossible to implement the order this year and has sought a year’s time. “We will have to reschedule all our exams so that they are held at least one-and-a-half months ahead. After the Assembly elections last year, our exam calendar went haywire, we would need at least a year to put things in place. I have urged the UGC to allow us to follow the rule from 2008,” said Suranjan Das, pro vice-chancellor (academic) of CU and a member of UGC.
The biggest challenge for CU would be to publish the third-year undergraduate results by June. According to the university’s academic calendar, the final exam of first year is held in June, for second year in July and for third year in April. The university takes at least two months to publish the results.
CU officials said it would be impossible to check the answer-scripts, tabulate and publish the third-year results by June. One of the main reasons is the huge number of students. There are about 1,10,000 students studying in 160 colleges under CU. The matter has already been discussed at a UGC meeting on Tuesday.
The university has decided to strictly ensure that colleges do not admit extra students. Bonga College, for instance, admitted 120 honours students when it had permission for admitting 75. “Many colleges exceed the number of intake they have been permitted by us. We have already put a check on it and uploaded all the data in our computers. From this year, we will showcause colleges that exceed the limit,” said Das.
Das promised to raise the matter in the next UGC meeting in Delhi on March 5. “We appreciate the Supreme Court’s decision as it will create more mobility for the students who want to shift from one university to another. But the Supreme Court should also stop the Election Commission from using college buildings during elections,” Das said.
To implement the UGC order from 2008, the university is also thinking of introducing spot evaluation for elective subjects. “We will have to think of introducing spot evaluation in certain subjects to ensure all the results are published in time. Since the controller of exams department will get a separate building by next year, we hope the logistics will be in place,” Das said. The undergraduate council will again discuss the matter on March 22.
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