Bangalore University has decided decentralise the evaluation process for the ongoing odd semester undergraduate examination citing lack of space. This move has come under criticism as the varsity had scrapped this system four years ago and introduced centralised evaluation after receiving complaints of malpractice.
At the core of the issue is a ‘tiff’ between BU and Bengaluru Central University (BCU). Sources in the university said that they were forced to revert to the old system as BCU had not agreed to allow them to use the stone building in the Central College campus for evaluation.
C. Shivaraju, Registrar of Evaluation of the university, said that the State government had directed BU to hand over the building to BCU.
The two institutions have been in a tussle over distribution of land and buildings for several months following the trifurcation of the parent varsity into BU, BCU and Bengaluru North University in the 2017-2018 academic year.
The evaluation for the ongoing first, third and fifth semester examination will now be conducted in eight degree colleges. Evaluators will have to assess as many as 15 lakh answer scripts of 2.5 lakh students enrolled in 650 colleges.
Prof. Shivaraju said that, as a precautionary measure, colleges have been asked to install CCTV cameras. The move has drawn criticism from lecturers who feel that this system would be compromised and the answer scripts could be manipulated.
In one instance, a bundle of answer sheets were found in an autorickshaw while in 2014, blank answer scripts were found in a bar in Marathahalli.
An official in BU said, “The centralised system was introduced because colleges would have an arrangement with each other to inflate the marks of their students. Such malpractices will resume.”