Oral horror for JJ, Raheja students

After the final year results were declared on March 12, students of both colleges had complained to the university that the examiners had simply breezed through the viva-vocein the Architectural Building Construction and Materials (Semester IX), held on November 16, 1998. On March 22, the university constituted a committee – comprising the Dean of the Science Faculty, Dr R T Laul, former dean of the Technological Faculty, Dr S Sundaram, Chairperson of the Ad-Hoc Board of Studies in Architecture, Prof C K Gumaste, and Prof Subhash Karekar, visiting faculty member at JJ – to inquire into the matter.

The panel has stated in its report that against the average 15 minutes usually allotted per student in the viva-voce, candidates in this case had been allotted only a minute each! It rejected the examiners’ contention that students should be given five minutes each.

The committee has also rejected the examiners’ argument that the students’ had not prepared their sessional (project) work as per the university’s instructions and that it was repetitive in nature and/or copied. They had said that only 15 students produced sessional work as prescribed in the syllabus while the remainingwork related to lower semesters.

In its report, the panel also says most of the students in question had failed only in the viva-voce of the subject under reference. The committee therefore concludes that 48 of the 69 from the JJ School of Architecture and 18 of the 40 students from the Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture had failed due to the examiners’ “misconception” that the sessional work was repetitive/copied. It also attributes their failure to the abbreviated viva-voce. In addition, the panel states, the Kamala Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute had appointed only one examiner – Prof Mungekar – while the rules stipulate that two or more should be appointed. “The committee fails to understand why the principal did not take proper action in this connection.”

For their part, the examiners had told the committee that they had sent a report to the university’s vice-chancellor on the day the viva-voce had been conducted, pointing out that the students had blindly copied even mistakes, andthat they were expected to show individualistic approach in the final year of their studies. In subsequent letters to the university, dated April 7 and 10, they had stated that the viva-voce was an oral paper and it cannot be subjected to reassessment. They had also pointed out that earlier examiners had made the same observations about the poor quality of sessional work.

They claimed the JJ principal, via whom the 48 students had made their representation to the university, had raked up the issue to cover up the lacunae in his college. University sources say the committee’s report was accepted at a meeting of the BoE on April 20. With the date for re-examination fast approaching, students hope a decision on the committee’s report will be taken soon. Vice-Chancellor Dr Snehalata Deshmukh said: “We have to check some more facts, then only a decision will be taken… and these are all confidential matters.”