The Hindu : Missing answer sheet: Kerala varsity to conduct re-test

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 24, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Missing answer sheet: Kerala varsity to conduct re-test

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. March 23. To make amends for a `missing' answer paper of the first year BA examination, 2002, the University of Kerala has decided to offer a re-test for Parvathy R. Nair, a student of the Government College for Women, Thiruvananthapuram.

The answer sheets of the part two Hindi (paper one) examination that Ms. Parvathy _ with register number 68077A_ wrote in April, 2002, were subsequently found missing.

The university Syndicate, which met on March 19, decided to order a re-test, not to take any fee for the same from the candidate and to conduct an inquiry into how the paper went missing.

The convener of the university's examination committee and Syndicate member, K.A. Andrew, told The Hindu that this was the first time that the university had decided to hold a retest for one candidate.

"It is not the fault of the student that the answer paper was lost. We will give the student two weeks' notice, prepare a question paper and conduct a retest. The student will not be penalised in any manner. Those who are responsible for the disappearance of the answer sheet will be given exemplary punishment," he said.

The problem was first noticed by the university section concerned, when they found that the examiner had not entered the marks for one candidate's paper when he returned the bundle of answer sheets given to him for valuation.

Ms. Parvathy's answer paper had the false number `612326' and was reportedly part of a bundle of answer sheets with false numbers `612251' to `612500'.

When the university wrote to the examiner asking him where the answer paper was, he is said to have replied that he did not receive that particular answer paper in the first place.

According to a top official of the university, the examiner should have brought the matter of the missing answer sheet to the attention of the chief examination who, in turn, should have notified the university.

"The inquiry will seek to determine where the paper went missing— at the section which despatched the paper bundles or at the examiner's house," the official explained.

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