Vadodara: Alleged mass failures in BSc nursing Semester IV exams triggered angry protests at Sardar Patel University (SPU) on Friday, with students briefly gheraoing the vice-chancellor.The students, joined by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), raised slogans and briefly gheraoed vice-chancellor Niranjan Patel during a university function. The VC had to leave the venue as students followed him, demanding immediate correction of their results.Students alleged that the results, declared after a delay of nearly three months, showed unusually low marks, with some candidates scoring zero or one or two marks. “Such marks are not possible and indicate improper evaluation,” a protesting student said. They also questioned the university’s practice of charging separate examination fees for each failed subject.University officials, however, defended the evaluation process. Biraj Patel, deputy registrar and head of the examination department, said that 373 students appeared for the exams conducted at the end of 2025, of whom 143 passed, taking the pass percentage to 38.33%.“There are multiple examiners involved in the assessment. After receiving representations, an expert opinion was also sought, which found the evaluation to be proper,” Patel said.He added that the university follows a transparent system, including a ‘flap’ mechanism to maintain anonymity during evaluation.Of the 229 students who failed, 120 applied for answer sheet observation by paying a fee of Rs 250 and were shown their answer books. On the issue of fees, the university clarified that the examination charge is Rs 1,500 and is uniform for all students.Despite the clarification, students continued their protest, alleging injustice. The university later said it had recorded nearly 100 queries raised during the answer sheet observation process.The vice-chancellor has assured that the answer sheets of the concerned students will be re-evaluated by a different expert. Officials said the exams were conducted in line with the Indian Nursing Council’s revised semester system and any concerns regarding the paper pattern would be addressed in consultation with faculty and subject experts.
