Pune: First-semester postgraduate students of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) are waiting for their results two months after their semester exams — a delay triggered by the university’s seven-month indecision on the implementation of state govt’s revised passing rules.Under the earlier 30:30:40 pattern, students had to score a minimum of 30% each in internal and external assessments and 40% in aggregate to pass. A govt resolution (GR) issued last June, however, mandated a stricter 40:40:40 benchmark, requiring 40% marks separately in internal and external evaluations as well as overall.Despite the June directive, SPPU issued its official notification only in the first week of Feb. And even then, the university remained undecided on whether to apply the new rule retrospectively. This added further confusion and stalled the announcement of PG semester-1 results, examination department officials said.After TOI sought clarification on the delay, university officials confirmed that results would be declared by the end of Saturday (Feb 14) based on the earlier 30:30:40 rule. Printing orders for marksheets, they said, had also been issued. “The prolonged uncertainty left many of us anxious. Our last exam was on Dec 5 last year. Usually, results come within four to six weeks. But this time, we’re just being sent from the exam coordinator to the HoD (head of department) without any clear answers,” a humanities student said.Another humanities student said the delay was disrupting academic planning. “If someone fails a subject, s/he needs to prepare for that paper along with the regular second-semester workload. With the next exams likely in April, the university must take timely decisions so such trivial issues don’t hold up results,” the student said.A science student, whose exams ended on Dec 15, said she was surprised by the holdup though not overly worried. “Whenever someone says results are out, I panic. Otherwise, I’m fine. Our seniors have already received their results.”Prabhakar Desai, director (officiating/in-charge) of the board of examination and evaluation, said the university was permitted 45 days after the exam to declare results, and delays were counted beyond that period. “Once govt changed the passing rules, various bodies, such as the academic council in the university, need to pass a resolution, which happened in early Feb. The confusion was whether to apply them to the completed semester or the upcoming one,” he said.“Today, it was decided that semester-1 results will follow the existing 30:30:40 rule, while the revised 40:40:40 criteria will apply from semester 2. We have begun publishing results accordingly and issued orders to print marksheets,” Desai said.Desai added that the university routinely announced results within the stipulated timeframe, prioritising final-year students to ensure their admission and job applications were unaffected.
