Pune: Unseasonal rains lashed Pune city and its surrounding areas on Monday evening. Among the areas hit hard was Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), where students’ exam answer sheets reportedly got soaked, raising concerns over their academic futures.
According to the Pune Mirror Report, several answer sheets that are considered highly confidential academic records were reportedly exposed to rain due to improper storage arrangements on college grounds. This has raised serious concerns about how the university handles examination-related processes and the security of students' academic work.
Students say SPPU charges a lot of money for re-evaluation.
According to a report by Saam TV, the sudden downpour damaged the answer sheets stored at the university, prompting widespread anger among students. “If the university wanted to dispose of those answer sheets, but a student goes for rechecking, i.e., reevaluation, what will they show him? That means that the student has failed, and his future is in trouble,” one student reacted.
The report further said that the unexpected downpour caused damage to the university's answer sheets, which infuriated many students. If the university wanted to dispose of those answer sheets, but a student goes for rechecking, i.e., reevaluation, what will they show him? That means that the student has failed, and his future is in trouble,” one student reacted.
"SPPU charges so much money for re-evaluation," said another student. "Then it is a shame that there is no proper place to store the answer sheets. Have the answer sheets been uploaded online?”, it further added.
Students raised questions over the negligence, demanding accountability and strict action against the officials responsible for the mishap.
What did SPPU say?
According to the Punekar News Report, Prof. Dr. Prabhakar Desai, in-charge director of the Board of Examinations and Evaluation, stated that answer sheets are discarded in accordance with university regulations following the announcement of results and the conclusion of the evaluation and re-evaluation procedures.
As a result, the contractor has been directed to finish the formalities, and the disposal process is presently in progress. Unseasonal rain caused some of these answer sheets to get wet while they were being collected for disposal, he continued.
According to university officials, the impacted answer sheets were no longer a part of the ongoing evaluation process because all necessary steps had already been taken.
What Did Student Organizations Say
According to the Bridge Chronicle report, student organizations that harshly condemned the university administration included the Republican Bahujan Vidyarthi Parishad (Athawale faction) and the Vidyarthi Sangharsh Kruti Samiti.
They alleged that lakhs of answer sheets were damaged due to carelessness, calling it a serious lapse that could potentially affect students’ academic future.
The Pune Mirror report also stated that this incident has sparked a serious outrage among student groups, with the National Students Union of India (NSUI) taking this aggressively and warning of conducting a protest against the university administration.
