Mumbai: In a glaring slip-up, many MCom students from Mumbai University’s Centre for Distance and Online Education (CDOE) were marked “absent” for semester 1 exams they had appeared for in Feb, triggering confusion and protests on campus.The anomaly surfaced on Monday when results were declared. By Tuesday morning, a steady stream of students reached the university’s Kalina campus, many carrying hall tickets and proof of attendance, seeking answers from CDOE director Shivaji Sargar. “We wrote the papers. How can we be marked absent?” was a common refrain among students waiting outside the office. Students said the discrepancies were not isolated. Many were shown absent for two or three subjects, while others were marked absent in papers they had not even opted for. “In my case, I was marked absent for mutual fund management and wealth management, even though I was present,” said one student. In at least one case, a student who was absent for two papers was recorded as present in both. Another candidate said the initial response from the administration only added to the frustration. “We were told to approach the external agency handling result processing. The director said he had nothing to do with it. It was only after we started protesting that our complaint applications were accepted,” the student said. As complaints mounted, officials at CDOE initiated a review of the tabulation and attendance records. By evening, the university acknowledged discrepancies and moved to correct them. Fresh results for 2,061 candidates were issued by 8pm, with revised marksheets uploaded online. University officials described the episode as a “technical error” and said it had been rectified in the updated results. However, students and activists questioned the absence of checks before declaring the results. “Such recurring incidents raise serious concerns about the efficiency of the university administration. These are not minor glitches—they directly affect students’ academic records and future opportunities,” said Gangurde Santosh, state general secretary of MNS’s student wing.
