Model College in Dombivli allegedly flunks 70 per cent of its SY BCom students who then pay the college for re-evaluation. Yet, these students ace the final exams a year later
There is something very fishy going on at the Model College in Dombivli. A staggering 303 Second Year BCom (SY BCom) students of the college have failed their semester exams — allegedly a routine occurrence for students here. Each of the students are now either asking for a photocopy of their answer sheets or submitting their scripts for a review — requests that will make them poorer (and the college richer) by Rs 600 each.
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Model College in Dombivli
The college authorities say the grade ‘F’ is given to a student who has failed but can qualify to sit for the final exams. The official term for this is Allow To Keep Term (ATKT). “It is nothing new. Such number of failures in second year exams will be found in other colleges too,” college principal M Nair told sunday mid-day.
But students of the college say the college is deliberately failing them in internal exams by just one or two marks. This, they allege, helps the college to earn huge amounts of money. Sheela Mehta (name changed) a student, said, “I failed the internal exam by one mark. So did many others. This is a ploy by the college to earn money.”
Another student Rachna Kamble said, “Many of us fell short by one or two marks. It is very disturbing.” The college’s record in the final/university exam, seem to support the students’ allegations. In each of the last three years, over 50 per cent Model College students graduated with First Class marks. In 2012 and 2013, in fact, not a single student graduated with less than 45 per cent marks. “If most students get a first class in the university exams, how can they fail college exams a year earlier?” asked another student.
Other side of story
When contacted, college principal M Nair said, “The college does not make any money by charging these fees. This is a University of Mumbai rule and the money goes to them. What can I do if 70 per cent students get the ATKT? Students should be thankful that they are given a chance to reappear for the exams. The allegations are baseless.” Speaking to sunday mid-day MD, C R Sadasivan, President, Bombay University College Teachers’ Union (BUCTU), said, “We had raised our concern about the rule to charge students money. The University’s rule has affected student’s studies.”