Faulty marks cards land KSOU in soup

Pvt firm’s lapses put students in quandary, cost varsity dear

The Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) is facing another embarrassment as it dispatched faulty marks cards to students who appeared for the second-year MCom. 

KSOU authorities said that the issue had been taken seriously, with a notice being served on the Institute of Engineering and Management (IEM), Thane, Maharashtra, the company which has an agreement with KSOU to print and distribute marks cards.

Due to a “technical glitch” by IEM, according to a KSOU letter, the marks cards dispatched to MCom candidates had errors, with subject names and marks botched up.

KSOU Registrar (Evaluation) K J Suresh said that the number of students affected by the goof-up was only 120. But sources told Deccan Herald that the number was close to 700.

In order to correct the inconveniences caused, the Registrar, on February 1, dispatched letters to the candidates, asking them to immediately return the marks cards to KSOU. The letter by the Registrar also contained a corrected version of the marks card.

The examination for second-year MCom courses was held in June-July 2013, Suresh said. The corrected marks card was sent 10 days ago, he said.

Suresh said the varsity was contemplating issuing a notice to IEM for the errors that have cost the varsity dear. “Due to faulty marks, KSOU had to spend extra on the new marks cards that were issued. We might send the company a notice, asking it to reimburse the extra expenditure,” he said.

The KSOU has incurred an additional Rs 141.80 per candidate due to the errors, with postal expenditure costing Rs 140 and Rs 1.8 for a new marks card, Suresh said.
Vice-Chancellor M G Krishnan said that KSOU authorities and IEM were responsible for the goof-up. “When such a massive number of marks cards are to be distributed, invariably some mistakes do occur,” he said.

On repeated delays and mistakes in marks cards, he said that in case there is a clause in the agreement between KSOU and IEM, which allows imposition of fines for such errors, “we will surely look into it,” he said. 

Students who had attended examinations for various courses in KSOU in 2013 had to face difficulties since the university dispatched marks cards to the candidates after almost a year. Then, “teething problems” in IEM were cited as the reason.