The university collected Rs 150 per paper as revaluation fees, and the results were scheduled to reach students by post one week before the start of fresh examinations.

Engineering students have been the worst-hit the worst by the university administration's inability to cope with revaluation work. An unprecedented 12,000 first, second and third year engineering students have applied for revaluation of results of the December examination. The next examination has already begun and students have been compelled to appear forthe subjects they sought revaluation in. Altogether 1,000 applications have been received from the medical faculty.

Generally, revaluation marks are sent to students a week before the `backlog examinations', but since most students did not hear from the university, they have been making a beeline to the examination building.

The university, in a bid to hasten the process, has opened an across-the-counter facility to let the student know his revaluation marks.

But this has anything but solved the problem. There is utter chaos, as students try to storm in through one door, trying to hand over their relevant numbers. Most of them are told the papers in their subjects are yet to be corrected and are asked to come the next day. Others are asked to wait outside, often pushed out rudely. ``Chala, chala, gardi karu naka, baher thamba (go away, do not create a jam here, wait outside), says a stiff university personnel at the counter.

After about half-an-hour, a few are given their revaluation marks.Some, like Vikas Kaul, a first year engineering student from the College of Engineering, Pune, who has applied for revaluation of his electronics paper (the examination is four days hence), are told, ``Take your exam again.''

Arin and Ketul Patel, both first year engineering students from the Sinhagad Institute of Technology, have been knocking at the doors of the education department, for their revaluation marks in electrical engineering and Applied Science I respectively, for the last four days, ``Each day,'' they say, ``we have been asked to come the next day.''

Controller of Examinations Santosh Dastane, however, says, ``Revaluation of marks is a stop-gap arrangement and the candidate is supposed to apply only if he is very sure his marks are less than his expectation. But since the last two years, you have students with 10 and 11 marks out of 100, who also apply for reassessment. How can they expect to pass? Don't they have faith in the university corrections? This stopgap arrangement has now becomea rule, with around 65 per cent of students who have failed in one subject or the other sending in their applications as a matter of routine.''

Another problem cited by Dastane is that colleges take time to send revaluation applications. Thus, four to five weeks are lost in the transportation of applications to the university. ``This year,'' says Dastane, ``another reason for the delay is that the panel of teachers could not cope with so many applications. Generally, these teachers handle about 100 to 150 papers each, but this time, the burden was much more. To add to our woes, several teachers were not available this season.''

Dastane says, ``We have been requesting the university administration to provide us with sufficient staff but that has not happened. In any case, we have already cleared 80 per cent of the work, only 20 per cent is remaining.''

Pro Vice-Chancellor N J Sonawane says, ``We are trying our level best to cope with the situation but cannot solve the problem immediately. The EducationDepartment is short-staffed. I am sure from the next term, moderators will play a vital part in bringing down the number of revaluation applications. We will also think of some modifications.''

But the explanation does not pacify the students, who wonder why the university took on the revaluation work in the first place. They have pinned their hopes on revaluation. Says Lobhash Gondane, a first year engineering student who secured 33 marks in Applied Science, ``Since Friday, I have been waiting here for four to five hours each day, but they have been asking me to come the next day. I hope they give it today since my backlog examination is tomorrow.''

Varsity plan

Pro Vice-Chancellor N J Sonawane has devised a plan to keep applications from pouring in for revaluation. ``From April 1999,'' he says, ``the university will have moderators (like the Std X and Std XII board examinations) for first year Arts, Science, Commerce and Engineering papers, so as to minimise the necessity to apply forrevaluation. We expect that the problem will not be so serious from the coming semester.''