Administration admits mistakes; outdated software to blame?

Newsline had revealed mistakes in totalling of marks of 59 candidates of Fine Arts. Subsequently,Director Public Instructions (Schools) Sunil Bhatia had asked the Department of Electronics Accreditation for Computer Courses (DOEACC) to examine the results.

On Sunday,UT officials claimed that even after correction,57 of the 59 candidates do not fall in the merit list. The remaining two candidates have scored same marks and the senior one has been short-listed.

“There were mistakes in totalling,which have been corrected. But 57 candidates are still not in the merit list. The cases of two candidates,who have scored similar marks,would be considered,” DPI (S) Bhatia said.

Sources said the error took place because of the totalling formula of an old software used by the DOEACC officials and that the error took place only in the results of Fine Arts candidates.

But the Administration has failed to justify how the error in totalling took place only in case of these 59 candidates — around 190 candidates appeared in the exam.

Also,was the formula adopted for calculation of results in other categories fool-proof? Further,who is responsible for these errors?

“How can anyone trust the authenticity of the merit list released by the Education department? There are numerous discrepancies. The department is playing with the future of so many candidates,” a candidate said.

In the merit list of Fine Arts,several errors had surfaced. There were cases in which the totalling was incorrect — several candidates with more than 30 marks were given 15 marks in the list released on the Education department’s website.

The recruitment of teachers by the Administration has been mired in controversy ever since it was advertised.

Of the 234 Junior Basic Trained (JBT) teachers,results of 36 have already been changed. Besides,numerous applications of aggrieved candidates are pending with the Education department.