In the ongoing postgraduate and undergraduate exams being conducted by the Panjab University, complaints regarding the `out-of-syllabi' questions, off-pattern papers and incorrect questions have been rampant.

Students from different streams point out that so far over 20 papers have been dogged with problems of one kind or the other, leading to confusion and resentment among them.

Officials, on the other hand, point out that problems occur during the paper setting.

``Once the paper-setter has done his job, the question paper is directly sent to the press for publication, without any editing or review,'' says Dr Sodhi Ram, PU Controller of Examinations (CoE). This, says the CoE, is done to ensure ``secrecy''.

The problem, sources say, is more deep-rooted than merely maintaining secrecy that leads to out-of-syllabi papers. ``Sometimes the instructions for paper-setters supplied by the board are unclear and the wording of the syllabi is ambiguous. Ambiguity is a problem, but a bigger problem is that not many teachers come forward for paper setting. The remuneration for a paper-setter is far below a university teacher's one day's salary. So there aren't many takers,'' a Reader in a university teaching department confesses on the condition of anonymity.

Sources in PU point out that the process for paper setting, at the earliest, starts six months before the exams begin. Correspondence between the officials and university teachers takes up a lot of time. ``Very often the first teacher approached by the university declines to set the paper and this means approaching others one by one. At times, when some teacher finally agrees to set the paper, there is barely a fortnight left for the exams to begin,'' sources add. Often, due the lack of willingness among university teachers to set papers, the task is entrusted to teachers who are not familiar with a particular option or syllabi because they haven't taught it, say sources.

Says S. P. Dhawan, senior faculty member at the Government College, Sector 11, ``Papers are framed out of syllabi when the paper-setter takes his job casually. On the other hand, students expect questions from within the books and books necessarily aren't the complete syllabus.''

According to the university rules, whenever a question paper is out of syllabus, the examinees should make a representation to the CoE, through the head of the institution, within 15 days of the paper.

``The matter is sent for expert opinion and is referred to the Board of Studies. The members decide on whether the case is sound and how many grace marks should be awarded,'' says Dr Sodhi Ram. The problem, however, is that the board only recommends award of equal number of grace marks to all students. ``There is no distinction between the bright, average and poor students,'' as an MA Part II English student points out.

Says a B. Com III student: ``When a section of paper is out of syllabus, it restricts the students' choice. The syllabi provide greater choice to the students, which automatically becomes their right. Why must an ill-informed paper-setter spoil a student's chances?'' PU officials point out that there is no penalty for the paper-setter and cases of the same teacher being asked to set the paper the next time are not rare.