DU orders probe after 500 NCWEB students fail exams

New Delhi: Delhi University has ordered a probe after nearly 500 students of the Non-Collegiate Women's Education Board (NCWEB) failed in an exam that was conducted at and evaluated by Jesus and Mary College.

The college administration also reached out to the Delhi police against a staff member over the alleged discrepancies. However, there was no response from the college authorities and NCWEB regarding the allegations.

Hundreds of affected students joined by DUSU members from ABVP staged a demonstration outside the college on Monday, demanding immediate action. They were seen raising slogans against the college administration and holding posters demanding justice.

According to a Delhi University (DU) official, the college discovered inconsistencies in record-keeping after receiving complaints from first and second-year students that some had been marked "failed", "Essential Repeat" (ER) or "absent" despite attending their exams.

The protesting students claimed they had performed well in their exams and accused the college of unfair practices. They demand that their answer sheets be shown and corrections be made to their results.

"For the past year, our college (JMC) has been facing an ongoing issue with ERs in our results. We have appeared for our exams yet the college has marked 'ER' and 'Fail' in our results," Vidhi Chaudhari, an NCWEB student, said.

"Whenever we raise this issue, we are told that this will be resolved. Now the college has asked us to appear for all the ER exams even though we have proof that we passed all the exams," she said.

Calling the issue indicative of a larger systemic crisis, DU Academic Council member Maya John said similar incidents have been reported by NCWEB students from other colleges.

She added that there have been past DU Executive Council resolutions to establish a separate Examination Branch for the School of Open Learning, which caters to correspondence students. NCWEB centres require similar reforms.

"NCWEB centres should be brought under a separate examination branch and provided with additional staff to handle the large volume of work. However, the University administration seems disinclined to implement such much-needed measures," she said.

A DU official said the university has ordered a probe into the matter while instructing the college to resolve the discrepancies urgently.

"We have met with these students and are actively working on addressing their issues. In the past, several students have come to us with similar concerns and we have resolved them. Given the repeated nature of these complaints, we have requested that the college investigate the matter and resolve the concerns at the earliest," a senior DU official said.

"If a student has failed the exam, we will be unable to assist. However, for those who have been falsely marked as failed, we have instructed the college to make the necessary corrections and release revised results. Additionally, the college has filed a complaint against a staff member who was found to be causing discrepancies in record-keeping," the official added.

JMC’s principal did not respond to requests for comments on the allegations.

There was no immediate response from NCWEB director, Geeta Bhatt.

The Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB) is a special initiative of Delhi University that allows women students to pursue undergraduate and postgraduate degrees through weekend classes and examinations.

Various DU colleges serve as NCWEB centres, providing classroom facilities and managing examinations for enrolled students.