The college is also alleged to have attempted to alter marks in the internal assessment of the first year Bachelor of Commerce (FYBCom) Business Communications (BC) paper in April/May 1999, by asking students to return their marksheets so that an additional two grace marks could be awarded to raise the subject's pass percentage.

Problems with the FYBCom assessment first arose when the results, announced on May 10, had declared majority students as failed. According to college sources, theauthorities on June 8 strangely asked the students to turn in their marksheets as the gracing pattern was faulty. The explanation offered was that only three grace marks had been awarded when the BC paper was first assessed -- instead of the usual five -- due to a computer error!

Students however protested, not only about the high failure rate, but also about the fact that marks were sought to be awarded after

the declaration of results. Following a representation from a delegation of students led by Sameer Desai, former chairperson of the university's Student Council, the university appointed a three-member committee, headed by Commerce faculty Dean A P D'Souza, to investigate the matter.

The committee's report, tabled before the BoE on August 6, recommends that answer-books in three subjects -- Foundation Course Paper-I, Environmental Studies and Business Communication -- be reassessed by university-appointed examiners.

This decision was taken, because ``there were certain anomalies ingracing,'' D'Souza told Express Newsline. ``Gracing is up to the examiners, but we found it was done without looking at the statistics,'' he said, adding that the panel felt it should have been done ``slightly on the generous side''.

For instance, he explained, 70 per cent of the students had failed in the BC paper, while in the other two, the results were poor compared to previous years. The controller of examinations has also been directed to take charge of the answer-books.

Incidentally, even before this controversy broke, the college was involved in another row over two SYBCom students, who were allowed to take the final examination in April 1999, despite having failed in the Commerce II paper during the half-yearly examination in November 1998. The students -- roll numbers E-109 and E-14 -- were among 11 others who had been declared as failed.

The university committee headed by D'Souza, which inquired into this matter as well, has stated that one of the two the students is related to acollege official. This has, however, still to be proved. The BoE has since referred the matter to its Unfair Means Inquiry Committee.

The D'Souza committe has also recommended that the original term-end marks of two SYBCom candidate be restored and that their performance in that subject at the annual examination held in March/April 1999 should be treated as null and void.

The university's Pro Vice-Chancellor Dr Naresh Chandra told Express Newsline that the BoE decision has been communicated to the college principal. Principal Savita Aware, for her part, says the convenor of the fact-finding committee, along with some university officials, had visited the college on August 11, and had taken charge of the answer-books. The college will follow the university's guidelines, she adds.