First, a computer breakdown delayed the final merit list by a day, creating panic among parents. Now, after revaluation and recounting, when the final merit is out, it turns out that changes in marks were mainly due to a problem in computer programming.

``The computers were not programmed to accept the results of students who passed the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examination in 1998,'' Vice-Chancellor of the university Dr Dayanand Dongaonkar told Express Newsline. While the results of students who passed the HSC exam in 1999 were directly downloaded through floppies supplied by the Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education, results of candidates who had passed HSC in 1998 had to be fed manually. ``These results were not fed through a floppy, andso there was a problem,'' Dr Dongaonkar said.

The problem was detected just before the results were declared, ``but it was too late'', the vice-chancellor said, adding that students were then asked to make representations about their problems. After rechecking, taking the technical difficulties into account, there were 18 changes in the merit list of the first 5,000, he added. ``This time, we had a definite mechanism to recheck everything,'' the vice-chancellor further said, and no students were missed out.

The technical problems were also due to students not submitting relevant documents, including caste certificates, students who belonged in the reserved category but were included in the open category and students who had committed errors in mentioning their particulars on answer-sheets.

A total of 3,357 representations were received about the marks, Dr Dongaonkar said, of which 2,225 were for recounting. There were 354 representations from students who had taken the HSC exam in 1998 and 323 studentsfor inclusion in a different reservation category.

The university has come out with the final merit list -- of the first 5,000 students for the time-being, according to the vice-chancellor. It is available at government medical colleges, but altered mark-sheets would not be given to the students individually. The results can also be accessed on the Net at www.muhsnashik.com

Dr Dongaonkar's trump card is that there were no changes in the mark-sheets of students which were submitted for recounting. The changes in the merit list were only due to the technicalities, he says.

The admission process would start as announced on July 11 at Nashik. Parents need not worry about accommodation, says Dr Dongaonkar, adding that he held a meeting of the Hotel Owners' Association in this regard. ``They have agreed to subsidise rates by 25 per cent and students have to only show the documents,'' he says.