The students of Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), Basara referred as IIIT Basara, demand transparency in the evaluation system for engineering second-year exam results declared. Allegedly, the students discovered that they were declared failed in a course they were sure they had done well in, and they were declared passed in the course they had failed.
It was learnt that 18 students out of 260 from the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) branch failed the Operating Systems course and passed the Design and Analysis of Algorithms (DAA) course when the reality is literally the opposite.
Although the results of engineering second year semester 2 were announced during the Pongal holidays in January, this "mix-up" came to light recently, when the administration summoned 18 students about the matter on February 6.
The February 6 meet
Giving more details, one of the victims of this mishap and Vice President of TSAS (Telangana Students Association for Solidarity), Abdul Khaliq, told EdexLive, "On February 6, 2025, the Head of Department (HoD) of the CSE branch called us (18 students) and informed us that we were marked failed for the operating systems course instead of DAA. When we expressed confidence that we had surely cleared the course, we all were called to his cabin for a revaluation of the paper."
The revaluation is the next step after recertification of the exam results. To put it simply, as per RGUKT norms, if a student is not satisfied with the recertification result, they can opt to challenge the revaluation, in which their paper will be evaluated in their presence. This is referred to as challenge revaluation.
Disclosing how the matter came to light, Abdul said that when they shared the matter of failing operating systems subjects with their faculty, the latter clarified that no student failed the paper.
"Following these apprehensions, the examination department launched an inquiry and reported that due to the change of subject code, the results of the subjects were erroneously swapped," he revealed.
He further clarified, saying, "The institute charges Rs 10,000 for challenge revaluation; however, as the administration was at fault, they evaluated answer sheets in front of the students at no cost." This revaluation happened when the students were called on February 6.
According to the fee structure for various examinations on the university's official website, here are the details:
Regular Exam: Rs 500/- (Per semester)
Remedial Exam: Rs 250/- each course
Spot registration (for remedial exam): Rs 1000/- each course
Grade Improvement: Rs 250/- each course
Reverification: Rs 200/- each course
Challenge Revaluation: Rs 10,000/- each course
All students demand challenge revaluation
Students considered this individual assessment of course papers in front of students by the examination as a gross violation. From students' perspective, they are penalised when they are accused of any malpractices or mistakes; on the other hand, the administration is violating its own rules without being penalised.
"To recall, a female student died by suicide in November 2024 as she was being harassed and accused of malpractice. Despite not being at fault, many students have been harassed. How can the institute opt to break the rules when it is the one at fault?" Abdul questioned.
While only 18 students from CSE were impacted by the matter, students from other branches, such as EEE (Electrical and Electronics Engineering) and ECE (Electronics and Communications Engineering), are demanding challenge revaluation in what seems like a ripple effect.
Yashwant G, General Secretary, TSAS, revealed that the 18 students were warned not to disclose the alleged act of misevaluation of results to others. However, Abdul Khaliq, Vice-President of TSAS and a victim of the incident, claims that it was because of the association that the incident came to light. "RGUKT being a premier institute, the administration has a history of targeting students who voiced their concerns and has allegedly failed many in previous instances as an act of vengeance," he alleged.
TSAS questions
Following the incident, the association has questioned the department and administration about the transparency of the evaluation. Further, it is learnt that the Vice-Chancellor RGUKT Basar, Prof A Govardhan, met the students and implored them to submit a letter.
"After re-verification, students who were initially declared failed discovered they had actually passed, but surprisingly found a backlog in ANOTHER paper! This raises serious concerns about the accuracy of the evaluation process. Students and members of TSAS are now questioning the transparency of the system. If you're a student of Semester 2 who's confident about your backlog, YOU CAN APPLY FOR A REVIEW OF YOUR PAPER FOR FREE! Yes, there is NO FEE for the review process.," a statement of the association read.
Around 300 students gathered at the examination department today, February 7, questioning the transparency of the evaluation. "Students from other branches who were confident they would clear the course have failed. Hence, they suspect foul play by the examination department and have been urging for challenge revaluation," Abdul disclosed.
It is learnt that students under the banner of TSAS have demanded the resignation of the examination department for the alleged violation. Additionally, the TSAS has been called for a meeting with the VC. Abdul told EdexLive that a meeting to discuss the matter is likely to be held tomorrow.
EdexLive tried contacting RGKUT's Controller of Examination (COE), Dr Vinod Bukya. We will update the report as soon as we hear from them.
