Failed, then got A after review: OU law students raise concerns

Students questioned if the grading system could be relied upon in the future if the answer scripts condired short of even passing grades were given top marks, with no change in content.

Hyderabad: Law students at Osmania University have alleged major discrepancies in the evaluation process, even as the university has dismissed the claims.

Students in their third and fifth year of the LLB programme said their grades increased significantly after about 1,000 answer sheets were submitted for revaluation. According to a Times of India report, around 200 students who had reportedly failed or received passing marks were given 70 to 90 marks out of 100 with A or B grades after revaluation.

With the support of All India Lawyers’ Union (AILU) and the Law Students Federation of India (LSFI), students have raised concerns and demanded a probe into the process.

‘Either university was negligent or deliberately failed’

For students, what was troubling was how the grading system could not be relied upon in the future if answer scripts initially considered short of even passing marks were suddenly given top grades, when there had been no change in the content of the scripts.

“I have never failed an exam in my life. So, it came as a shock when I received an F in two subjects in the fifth semester. I applied for revaluation, and I was later rewarded A and B grades in constitutional law and criminal law,” said a 21-year-old, third-year law student.

Either the university’s evaluators were negligent or deliberately failed students to earn fees from revaluation applications and supplementary exams, the student alleged.

“How is this possible otherwise? How come my answer scripts, which earlier failed to secure even pass grade, are now awarded high grades?” the student asked.

Another student claimed his grades went from F to B following the revaluation process. He reportedly failed in the subject “labour law” despite being confident about his performance. He was awarded a B after applying for revaluation. The student said he paid supplementary examination fees since the application deadline closed before the revaluation results were declared.

LSFI, AILU claim thousands of students affected

The law student organisations said several thousand students were affected by the issue. LSFI and AILU alleged that the authorities forcibly made students pay revaluation and supplementary examination fees of Rs 750 and Rs 1,100 per paper, respectively, just to secure fair marks.

“We submitted a representation after meeting students at various law colleges in the city and noticed that many bright students had failed. In a few colleges, 40 to 50 students in one class failed,” B Chandrakanth, member of LSFI, told TOI. Hundreds of students saw major changes in their grades after revaluation, he added, echoing the students’ concerns.

AILU’s Ali Hyder said the university is trying to minimise the issue. “It is affecting the lives of thousands of students. At the very least, the university must ensure that such mistakes are not repeated in the future,” he said.

OU promises severe penalties if violations are found

The Osamnia University on Thursday, June 11, rejected the claims and said that anyone found breaking rules or being negligent will face punishment.

The issue was taken into consideration during a high-level meeting headed by Vice Chancellor Prof Kumar Molugaram. The University reiterated its integrity in the examination system and said answer sheets are graded via a secure online method where students’ identities, like their names and hall ticket numbers, remain covered from evaluators.

The university said that examiners are constantly monitored. The university officials said the changes occurred in multiple departments, not just law.

Such differences, they said, are a “normal outcome of academic judgement” and cannot be taken as evidence of lapses in the evaluation system.