Taking serious cognisance of the delays in announcement of results due to erroneous bar codes, centre and question paper codes filled by students, the Mumbai University (MU), in a circular issued this week, said it is the responsibility of the block supervisors and chief conductors at exam centres to ensure all details are filled accurately. The circular further mentioned that in future, if it is found that exam details are not filled in correctly by students, serious action will be taken against the block supervisors and chief conductors of exams.

Mentioning that students are bubbling the wrong circles in their answer sheets where they have to fill their exam details, along with their seat numbers, the circular said that these errors are eventually leading to delays in announcement of results. The MU is also forced to keep some results on hold for the same reason, leading to unrest among students.

The circular, signed by Prasad Karande, in-charge director (examinations and evaluations), said that it is a serious problem with far-reaching impact on results.

The MU has urged college principals to hold train-ing for their supervisors and chief conductors and inform them to be more cautious.

A senior principal said many colleges, these days, are engaging seniors, postgraduate students or even peons for supervision. "These people are not trained to conduct an exam and are not careful about the details filled by examinees. Since the answer sheets are scanned and assessed on a software, even a minor error in bubbling can displace the paper and send the staff on a wild goose chase. The exam staff are then forced to manually look for these answer sheets and then get them assessed by teachers. This is not only time-consuming, but it also adds to the delay in announcement of results," said the senior principal.

Meanwhile, the university is yet to announce the results of final-year BA (Multimedia & Mass Communication), formerly known as BMM. The exam had concluded in the first week of June. A student complained that they have been missing the admission deadlines at many places. These students had a delayed start to their sixth semester exams, as the results for their semester V exams, held in December, were announced in April.