Bamu fines Kannad college Rs 1L over BCom question paper leak

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The board of examinations and evaluation at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University (Bamu) on Friday imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on a college at Kannad taluka in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district following the April 11 BCom question paper leak.

According to Bamu, the penalty has been levied on Rashtriya Arts, Science and Commerce College in Hatnur, from where the ‘direct taxes’ paper for the sixth semester BCom exam was leaked.

During the meeting, the university also decided to initiate further disciplinary action against Aslam Jabbu Shaikh, a staff member from Kohinoor College in Khultabad. Shaikh had been appointed as the external senior supervisor at the Hatnur college but allegedly remained absent on the day of the exam without justification, BN Dole, director of the board of examinations and evaluation at Bamu said.

After the BCom paper leak, Bamu had directed the college to file a police complaint against the staff member involved. The Kannad police have registered a case under Sections 316(2) (criminal breach of trust) and 318(2) (cheating) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Prevention of Malpractices at University, Board and Other Specified Examination Act, 1982, and the Information Technology Act, 2000. Details regarding the progress of the investigation have, however, not yet been made public.

In addition, based on the recommendations of an official committee, the board has approved a 15% increase in remuneration for examination-related duties.

The university has also decided to expand the use of its on-screen marking system, currently used for courses like law, pharmacy and engineering, to include evaluation of answer sheets across other undergraduate and postgraduate programmes.