Panjab University struggles to declare exam results

CHANDIGARH - Panjab University (PU), the alma mater of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is struggling to declare the annual results of several courses because many teachers are allegedly going slow in evaluating students’ answer sheets.

Vice Chancellor (VC) R.C. Sobti has appealed to the teachers to speed up the evaluation work and warned that action would be taken against those who refuse to do so. The delay in evaluation has forced the university to extend its deadline for declaring the results.

PU authorities had fixed the deadline of June 20 to declare the results of all courses of academic session 2009-10, but results of only a few courses could be declared by then.

The university later shifted the deadline to June 30, but results of some of courses could not be declared even on that date. The university is yet to say when all the results will be announced.

In order to sensitise the PU faculty about the urgency of the performance of their duties, Sobti has exhorted the Panjab University Teachers’ Association (PUTA) to accelerate the work in this direction.

“It is only through the proper performance of duties that rights are earned in an organisation such as PU. I have made an ardent appeal with folded hands to the president and the secretary of PUTA to get the remaining answer sheets in different courses evaluated without compromising the quality so that the prestige of the university remains intact and the results are declared well in time,” said Sobti.

“Action as per rules may be initiated against those teachers who refuse to evaluate the answer sheets,” he added.

It is probably for the first time in the history of the university that the VC has publicly appealed to teachers to expedite their work.

PU spokesperson Sudhir Kumar told IANS: “We are facing difficulty in declaring results in the stipulated time period. In fact, it is the duty of all teachers to complete the paper evaluation work well in time so that PU can declare the results of all courses in time. Therefore, our VC has made a request before them to speed up the checking work.”

“Now results of most of the streams are out. They are pending only in exceptional cases and we will make sure that they are out at the earliest,” said Kumar.

However, PUTA office bearers are upset with the VC’s move.

“I do not know why our vice chancellor is appealing to the PUTA to expedite the paper evaluation work; he has clearly chosen a wrong forum,” PUTA president Manjit Singh told IANS.

“It is not the PUTA’s responsibility and we cannot interfere in it. He should request the chairpersons and teachers of their departments for this,” he said.

“Delay in the declaration of results is not a new thing in PU; it happens every year. Instead of appealing to us, the PU authorities should look for some better mechanism to address this problem,” he said.

Panjab University is one of the oldest universities in India. It was established in 1882 at Lahore. In 1956, it was relocated at Chandigarh.

It has nearly 60 teaching and research departments and annual examinations are conducted here in April-May every year.

Over 10,000 students - 70 percent being girls - study in various departments in the university campus that is spread over 550 acres covering Sectors 14 and 25.

The university is the alma mater of many senior bureaucrats and senior politicians.

(Alkesh Sharma can be contacted at alkesh.s@ians.in)