Chandigarh, June 23
Is Panjab University trying to cover up the abysmally low results in MA English Part I examination this year for factors not entirely connected with students’ performance?

It would seem so if one goes by what the university’s official gazette says and what the Head of the Department of English has tried to project in a written statement.

According to the university gazette, the overall pass percentage in MA English Part I exam this year has sunk to an abysmal low of just about 20 per cent. In order words, nearly 80 students out of a 100 who sat in the examination in Punjab and Chandigarh have failed to clear it in the first attempt. Out of 2,246 students who took the examination, only 387 students have passed. These include 69 students of the Department of English at the university.

In 2000-2001, the pass percentage in MA English Part I exam was over 50 per cent. A total of 1,625 students had appeared in the examination out of which 822 passed. In the year 1999-2000, the pass percentage was 42 per cent. As many as 1,492 students sat in the examination of which 634 passed.

Why is the pass per centage so low this year? Students allege that it was because of lackadaisical manner in which the answer sheets were evaluated by the teachers. The spot evaluation of answer sheets commenced on April 26, 2002 in the subject of History of English Literature. It is alleged that only two of the assigned evaluators turned up to do the job. The university however maintains that the figure is much higher. The maximum number of failures have figured in this paper. The allegation of substandard evaluation of answer sheets has been corroborated by a senior teacher of the English department of Panjab University who was part of the evaluation team.

Little wonder, there is a growing demand from the students for rechecking by competent and academically committed evaluators who do not regard this task as a “punishment”.

The Vice-Chancellor, Prof K.N. Pathak, has already taken note of the controversy and sought the comments of Prof Pushpinder Syal who had levelled certain allegations about “ünfair” evaluation.

Meanwhile, Dr Shelly Walia, chairperson of the English department, in a communique to Chandigarh Tribune, said the Vice-Chancellor had not ordered any “probe” into “unfair results”. He had simply asked for comments from the former chairperson, Prof Puspinder Syal.

Dr Walia also sought to present a rosy picture about the pass percentage by confining himself to the performance of students of English department of Panjab University only. He said: “Out of the 126 students of the English Department who appeared in the examination, 69 have passed, with one first class, and 11 second classes. Twenty three students got compartment and eight students had their candidature suspended. This shows that if students were to clear their compartment and submit their papers, 79 per cent students would pass with only 24 failures. It has been experienced in the past years that only good students reach MA II after the “sifting” that takes place in the first year final examination where the mediocre/non-serious students do not make it. I would emphasise that the department of English can confidently show that it maintains a high academic standard, which is clear from the number of department students who make it to the NET/UGC exam. Almost 10 to 15 students clear this national exam every year.”

Dr Walia said, “as corroborated by Prof Manju Jaidka, the coordinator of examination, all rules and regulations were followed regarding spot evaluation that took place in the department. A total of 29 teachers were involved in the evaluation process out of which 22 were from Panjab University. The examiners who were given the duty to mark the papers taught the relevant papers.

“As is clear from these statistics, the result this year is higher than the previous record of this university as for many years there had been no first divisions on the average. I would, in fact, recommend that the value of this degree should go up and no leniency should be shown either to the students or the evaluators, Dr Walia said.