University of Mysore Vice-Chancellor G. Hemantha Kumar on Thursday said the allegations of discrepancies in answer keys of K-SET conducted in July and other issues raised by Mysuru MP Pratap Simha will be looked into. “We will clarify to the MP after going into the issues taken up by him. The issue of flawed answer keys has been brought to the notice of the respective subject committee,” he added.
Reacting to the MP’s letter to him on the alleged lapses in the conduct of this year’s K-SET, the V-C said all 41 subjects for which the K-SET was conducted had subject committees with experts roped in locally and outside.
A total of 17 ‘incorrect’ answer keys in the letter were pointed out, Prof. Kumar said, “So many answer keys going wrong appears unlikely. Anyway, we will examine every issue raised. If required, we can also consider giving grace marks if there was an error in the questions asked in the paper.”
Responding to the claims on non-functional CCTVs at the K-SET evaluation centre and the strong room where the answer scripts had been kept, the V-C said all cameras were working normally and the footage of the last 15-20 days were available. The functions of all cameras were checked and all of them are in working condition, he clarified.
The V-C said the re-exam demanded over the alleged discrepancy in the question paper can be decided only after going into the details. “The experts will first go through answer keys and the questions asked in the papers. It is early to comment about the re-exam. Let us enquire into the case first. The UGC’s permission is essential to conduct the re-exam,” he replied.
He clarified that the University was collecting a fee of ₹1,000 for accepting objections from the candidates over the alleged answer key errors as per the guidelines of the UGC.
Nearly 85,000 candidates had enrolled for the test conducted on July 25.
Besides Mysuru and Bengaluru, the K-SET for 41 subjects was held at nine other centres in the State. It is conducted once a year for those aspiring to become assistant professors in degree colleges and universities.
The UGC has renewed its approval to the university to function as a nodal centre for conducting K-SET in the State for three more years. This is the second year of the K-SET by the university after the renewal.
