Srinagar: After putting their careers at stake by framing what students say was an “out of syllabus” and “copy and paste” question paper, officials at the Kashmir University on Tuesday allegedly harassed undergraduate students and even “detained” at least four of them, including two girl students, when they tried to approach the varsity’s Vice Chancellor over the matter.
The aggrieved students pursuing Bachelors in Business Administration (BBA) at different degree colleges of Kashmir affiliated with the KU have accused the varsity administration of framing out-of-syllabus question paper on ‘Material Management’ in the ongoing UG 6th semester examination.
The multiple choice question paper, the exam for which was held on February 2, had been downloaded from an online portal by the paper setters, as per the aggrieved students, who said they could hardly attempt any question with students from at least 2 degree colleges boycotting the paper altogether.
On Tuesday afternoon, the students tried to file a representation with the KU VC at his secretariat with the hope that the senior most officer at the institution would fastrack the re-examination of the question paper in view of the impending PG entrance test.
However, much to their disappointment, varsity officials at the VC secretariat including the Chief Proctor denied them access to the VC’s office, students said.
Instead of listening to the students’ grievances, the officials, as per the students, accused them of being “agents” after they failed to produce their identity cards, which, the students said, they had returned at their respective colleges.
“We offered them our university registration numbers instead, but they did not listen and went on harassing us,” an aggrieved female student told Kashmir Reader.
What shocked the students more, the KU officials at the VC secretariat called the police personnel deployed at the secretariat and detained four of the students including 2 girls inside the waiting hall for almost half an hour, they alleged.
It was only after their mates raised a cry at the secretariat that the students werr let off, they added.
The aggrieved students alleged that officials at the varsity were passing the buck over the re-examination of the ‘Material Management’ question paper as a result of which their career had been put at stake.
Chief Proctor at KU, Prof Showkat Ahmad, ignored repeated calls and messages made by this reporter asking for his comments on this matter.
Registrar KU, Prof Nisar Ahmad Mir, refuted the students’ allegation that they had been detained by the officials.
The Chief Proctor, he said, was only “checking whether the students were outsiders and in fact accompanied them to the concerned office”.
Prof Mir further informed that the said question paper had already been sent to subject experts, who will shortly file their recommendations in this regard.
Pertinently, the students had last week lodged a protest at Srinagar’s Press Enclave demanding a re-examination of the said paper immediately in view of the impending KU PG entrance test tentatively scheduled by the varsity administration at end of March.
The students wonder how their careers could be put on the backburner at a time when they were already running late for their degrees by an entire academic year.

Irshad Khan