College principal, registrar lent students a helping hand — Report

In a stinging indictment of both the registrar and principal, the Unfair Means Inquiry Committee of the University of Mumbai has recommended the following: “The college management should be informed that the principal and the registrar have hampered the fair conduct of the examinations and strict action should be initiated against them in the matter.”

The report, which was accepted by the university’s Board of Examinations (BoE) at its last meeting on November 19, also states that the principal (Savita Aware) “appears to have no understanding of the rules and regulations pertaining to the conduct of FYBCom and SYBCom college examinations”.

The marks of the two students — roll numbers E-14 and E-109 — were recommended to be withdrawn by another committee set up by the university, which submitted its report in August this year. The Unfair Means Committee has also recommended that the university monitor the college’s examination process for at least one academic year so that such unfair practices are not repeated.

Controversy first erupted in November 1998, when D D Dafale, examiner of the SYBCom Commerce Paper-II term examination, was found to have changed the marks of 13 students to help them pass, according to college sources. This was discovered when mark-sheets were distributed to students, a practice adopted to ensure transparency in verification.

Following complaints, the marks of all students — including roll numbers E-14 and E-109 — were withdrawn. The two students in question were however allowed to take the final exam in March-April 1999.

After the matter came to light, a committee was set up under the convenorship of A P D’Souza, dean of the university’s faculty of Commerce, to inquire into the matter. In its report, presented before the BoE in August this year, the panel had recommended that the performance of the two students in the annual exam be treated as null and void. It also recommended an inquiry by the university’s Unfair Means Committee.

The second panel, after interviewing the principal, registrar, members of the examination committee and steering committee, and Prof Dafale, observed: “The examiner concerned was pressurised by the college authorities to change the marks of candidates with roll numbers E-14 and E-109 in Commerce Paper-II. Thus the college authorities showed undue interest in two candidates, one of whom is the niece of the registrar, while the other candidate bears the same surname as that of one Saboo, a Lions Club of Malad member, but not connected to the college.” However, the Lions Club member — though he refused to appear before the committee — sent an affidavit claiming he was not related to the student concerned or the college, the report says. The registrar also told the panel that he had not asked the examiner to increase his niece’s marks.

The university’s Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Naresh Chandra told Express Newsline that the university would write to the college management about the panel’s report. The college principal Savita Aware, however, said that while she was aware of the inquiry, she had no knowledge of the report. She also claimed that college authorities had not tried to help the two students. “We didn’t know anything about the students or their relationships (with college authorities),” she said.