14 students score zero marks in BA semester 5 exam

Mumbai: Fourteen students from the University of Mumbai’s (MU) Institute of Distance and Open Studies (IDOL) were marked zero in the ‘Literature of Protest’ subject in the semester five examination of the Bachelor of Arts (BA) course.

The goof-up has left these students in limbo, who are unable to secure admission to postgraduate degree programmes even though they cleared the final semester six examination, results of which were recently declared.

The semester five examination concluded on March 29, and results were declared after a four-month delay on August 5. A student, expressing her frustration, said, “Since I secured good marks in all other subjects in semester five, the anomaly of receiving zero marks in just one subject is inconceivable. I requested a re-evaluation of my answer sheet, but the university is yet to announce the revised result. This delay has left me incapable of pursuing a postgraduate degree.”

Another student added, “The MU administration initially advised us to submit written complaints. After our complaint, MU told us to visit our examination centre and bring along our attendance sheets following which we were also directed to opt for revaluation at a cost of ₹320 along with obtaining photocopies of our answer sheets.”

The affected students said the situation has prevented them from pursuing advanced studies or applying for job opportunities. Another student said, “IDOL declared semester six results on August 14, but our result is withheld as all subjects of semester five are not cleared. We are requesting MU authorities to re-evaluate our results as soon as possible and clear all the confusion.”

Meanwhile, the MU administration ensured the matter would be thoroughly investigated.

A similar situation occurred with the results of IDOL’s fourth semester BA course with students who initially failed a subject being made to undergo re-examination, the results of which were declared in July. “The university wrongly marked many students as absent, causing unnecessary distress,” said a student who is pursuing a BA from IDOL. Another student said, “The university’s mishandling of the fourth semester’s attendance records has created an unnecessary obstacle. Even though I completed my final semester, I remain ineligible to apply for postgraduate courses until this matter is rectified.”