A marking “conversion” has snowballed into a full-blown crisis at the Mumbai University’s Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE), with Masters of Commuter Application (MCA) Semester I students alleging they have been failed by a formula they were never told about.
In January, students sat for theory papers clearly printed as 50 marks. However, when results were declared on April 13, mark sheets showed the same subjects evaluated out of 70, instantly distorting scores and pushing many into ATKT territory. With careers at stake, students are now scrambling for answers, calling it a blatant administrative lapse.
“They never mentioned this to us. All five papers were for 50 marks.
But when results came, evaluation was done out of 70. Many of us have got ATKTs because of this,” said one student.
“Even the Head of Department (HoD) was initially not aware. If this is their system, they should either award marks fairly or compensate us for the confusion,” another added.
CDOE Director Shivaji Sargar denied any error, insisting the pattern is in line with National Education Policy (NEP) norms.
“For regular students, the evaluation is 50:50, while for distance and IDOL students it is 70:30 (70 for external/theory and 30 for internals). Though students write a 50-mark paper, the Academic Council had approved conversion to a 70-mark system,” he said.
He added that scores would be proportionately scaled. “To simplify, marks obtained out of 50 will be converted to 70. We have met students and the issue will be resolved,” Sargar said, noting that around 400 MCA students are affected.
However, this explanation has done little to calm tempers. MU Senate member and Academic Council member Pradip Sawant called the situation “very unfortunate,” claiming this is not the first time such confusion has surfaced. “Last year, we also received complaints. The council was told marks would be averaged while converting to 70. I had raised objections, yet this has happened again,” he said.
Sawant warned of a deeper systemic neglect. “MCA and MMS courses under IDOL are consistently ignored. Such recurring issues are driving students away from distance education,” he added.
One of the affected students told Mumbai Mirror, “We feel completely blindsided. We prepared, studied, and wrote our exams believing it was a 50-mark paper because that’s what was printed on the question paper. Suddenly, after results, we see in the marksheets that our marks were being scaled to 70.”
“This is not just about numbers it’s about our academic record and future. If this conversion was always part of the system, why were students not clearly informed beforehand? Many of us have performed decently, but due to this sudden change, it looks like we have underperformed. It is mentally exhausting to now keep running to the university for something that is not our mistake. I have failed in three subjects,” the students added.
“When we approached the HoD, we were told to apply for revaluation, but honestly, we are clueless how that will help in this situation. The issue is not just about checking answers it is about the marking scheme itself being unclear and changed after the exam.
Revaluation won’t fix the core problem if the marks are already being converted incorrectly. We are now stuck in a loop of uncertainty should we pay for revaluation, wait for correction, or prepare for ATKT exams?
There is no clear communication, and that is making things worse. We just want a fair resolution without being penalised for an error we did not commit,” another student said.
For now, hundreds of students remain stuck in academic limbo, not because of performance but by a pattern they say was never explained.
