Bengaluru: In what is seen as a huge relief to budding engineers, Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) has decided to award students the higher mark, either from original valuation or from revaluation.
The circular, issued by VTU Registrar (Evaluation) Prof Satish Annigeri, notifies that the existing rule of considering marks after revaluation as the final score is withdrawn.
“If the revaluation marks are lesser than the original ones, the original marks shall be retained,” the notification stated. The new rule will be
applied for all undergraduate and postgraduate examinations conducted by the varsity, starting June-July 2017, under the Choice Based Credit System (CBCS).
Students losing out marks, or failing for papers in which they had cleared, post-revaluation, was a common problem at the varsity for many years.
“While most of the other varsities had implemented this rule years back, VTU continues with this stringent measure. This new rule would encourage us to apply for revaluation without any risks,” says Rajesh Gurani, a research student at the varsity.
For seventh semester student Pruthvi, the decision would help his junior counterparts avoid what he faced last semester. “It was unfortunate that I had to repeat a paper which I had cleared at the first attempt, as scores after revaluation went too low resulting in a backlog. The untimely exam schedules then added to my pain with preparations for current and supplementary papers together became more tiring and stressful,” he said.
However the student leaders, who have been urging the varsity to consider the higher marks as final, are not fully satisfied with the decision.
“The varsity should adhere to the process of refunding the revaluation fee collected if the student scores 15 marks or more post revaluation. Only then can this move be termed completely student-friendly,” said Shravan Kumar, co-convener of VTU Students’ Struggle Committee.
Pointing out his own experience, Kumar said, “I had scored 20 marks more than the original marks post revaluation during my fourth semester exams held in December 2015 and have not yet received my refund.”
Another student leader and seventh semester student, on the condition of anonymity remarked, “Now that more students are encouraged to apply for revaluation without risks, this simply means more revenue coming into the varsity.”
