Mumbai: Tech snag during paper correction triggers panic

Correction of answer paper abruptly halted due to technical glitch during law exam. Representation pic

On Monday, May 22, technical glitches caused the checking of the "Law of Evidence" paper for final year (five-year BLS-LLB) students at Mumbai University to abruptly halt. The Online Marking System (OMS) accepted only 60 marks instead of the full 100 marks for the paper. This discrepancy arose because the 60 marks pattern was intended for final LLB Semester 6 students following the old syllabus, while the 100-mark pattern was meant for the final 10th semester of the five-year BLS-LLB course.

Similar concerns emerged regarding the final year semester 6 Law and Medicine Paper, which deviated from the previous question paper format. Mumbai University has already faced criticism, including from the chancellor, for delayed winter examination results.

BLS ‘Law of Evidence'

According to an anonymous faculty member from a law college, there were discrepancies found in the ‘Law of Evidence' papers in Mumbai University's Online Marking System (OMS). The faculty member stated, "There were discrepancies with the number of questions answered as short, brief, and long answers written in the answer sheets that she had taken up for checking." They further explained that the subject code on the answer sheets and question paper did not match, and there was a mismatch between the written answers and the questions. It was later revealed that the answer sheets belonged to BLS LLB Semester 10-Law of Evidence paper, a 100-mark paper, while the OMS marking column was set for only 60 marks. The faculty member emphasised the issue's significance, stating, "Even if the faculty corrected all the answers, the system would not accept marks beyond the set total mark of 60."

Upon bringing the matter to the notice of the university helpline, the response was lackadaisical. The faculty member stated, "The response of the speaker [who asked to continue checking the paper] left the coordinator reluctant to proceed with the checking, as students would likely lose marks." As a result, an official remark highlighting the issue was sent to the university and law college authorities.

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LLB Year Semester 6

In LLB Semester 6, the ‘Law and Medicine' question paper deviated from the usual pattern. Instead of starting with brief answers and ending with long-form answers, it was the other way around. Law faculties are concerned that the OMS system won't reverse the marking scheme, potentially causing students to lose marks. This issue was raised by a faculty member from a law college in the western suburbs.

The faculty member said, "We will raise the concern with the university to rectify the OMS system so that students do not lose marks. Fortunately, so far, the Law and Medicine answer sheets have not been sent for checking through the OMS, and hopefully, the university will rectify the error promptly."

A faculty member from a law college reported that they informed a relevant authority about the incorrect paper pattern during the Law and Medicine examination. However, they received a rude response suggesting a lack of understanding of the university's question paper pattern.

Dr. U K Nambiar, Principal of MCT Law College, Airoli, who is also one of the cluster heads for law colleges in Navi Mumbai, said, "It is unfortunate that the technical backend team of Mumbai University ignored the mandatory checking norms before uploading the exam answer sheets for evaluation. This also indicates a lack of supervisory authority to monitor the work of the backend team."

Nambiar suggests that law colleges offer proactive support by rotating their faculties to supervise the university's work during exams.

Way out

"The advantage of having law college faculty members involved is that they can immediately resolve such technical glitches by coordinating with the technical and backend teams concerned, resolving the issues promptly. Moreover, the university will be able to release the exam results on time," Nambiar explained.

Dr Ajay Patil, Principal of DY Patil Law College, said, "The need is to work together and assist in the smooth conduct of university examinations to prevent students from facing any losses."

Student Union reacts

Siddharth Ingle, president of the Maharashtra Students Union, said Mumbai University has not learned from previous mistakes and lacks the willingness to change.

The other side

Dr AK Singh, Associated Dean of Law at the university, said, "We will look into the matter and resolve it soon."