Exam takes recourse in old syllabi, class flunks

CHANDIGARH: An inspirational anecdote concerning former president Dr Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan about his answering all options in an examination and leaving the choice of any three questions among five to the evaluator should do well to increase erudition among youngsters and remove chances of failure when blunders are committed while setting papers.Unfortunately, it���s a little too late for some students of BE (food technology), Panjab University, to heed this advice.
In the recently declared first semester results, almost the whole class has flunked, thanks to a gross oversight by the university which based the physics exam on old syllabi. According to information, more than 50% of the paper was out of syllabus, resulting in 15 of 20 students failing to pass the exam held in December last year. ���Our course changed this year but five out of eight questions asked were from previous years��� syllabi. If the university doesn���t give us another chance, our careers will be in jeopardy,��� said a baffled student.
Acting on the complaint of shocked students, the department���s board of studies has reportedly recommended to the decision-making authorities to either give grace marks or re-conduct the exam. Talking to TOI, VK Rattan, chairman of department of chemical engineering and technology, said, ���The complaint has been forwarded to controller of examination. A committee has also been formed to decide the future course of action and identify reasons that led to such a thing.���
But until a decision is taken, students will continue to remain restive while they also raise a finger at PU���s credibility. ���This is not the first time that PU has goofed up,��� said a student. However, controller of examination AK Bhandari was not available for comment despite repeated attempts to reach him.