Students, parents cry for justice gets louder

Hyderabad: Anxious students and parents continued to throng the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) office here on Tuesday, demanding justice for students declared failed in the recent examinations. The students and parents, however, were given a rude shock by the police by taking scores of them into preventive custody, when they tried to hold demonstrations near the office and near the Ministers' quarters over the issue.

The parents have been demanding a thorough reverification of the papers of those who had failed. In the wake of protests by different political parties and student organisations, a large number of policemen has been deployed near the BIE office. The State government has already constituted a three-member committee to look into the allegations of irregularities in the declaration of the results.

However, several parents and students again assembled near the BIE office on Tuesday complaining that injustice was done to them, and they were unable to apply for reverification of answer sheets. Some parents demanded that answer sheets of their children be handed over to them. "The issue involves future of 12 lakh students and their parents. Students are suffering for no fault of theirs. Justice should be done to students and we demand stringent action against the officials responsible," the protesting parents said.

A section of parents was critical of the State government for its failure to restore confidence among students and their parents. Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao and TRS working president K T Rama Rao confined their message by appealing to people to ensure victory for 16 Lok Sabha members, they observed. But they were not concerned about the death of 16 students.

Mohammed Sirajuddin, a retired Army officer from Karimnagar, told The Hans India that he came to the Board to apply for reverification of answer sheets of his daughter. His daughter, who secured 93 marks in English, 99 in Sanskrit, 89 in Economics and 84 in Commerce, was declared failed because the Board claimed that she got only 20 marks in Mathematics A and 10 in Mathematics B.

The teachers in the college the girl studied were also shocked to learn that she fared poor in Mathematics. She is a brilliant student, her father quoted the teachers as saying. S Swamy from Tarnaka said the Board claimed that his son Pranav got 16 marks and failed in Mathematics and also got poor marks in other three subjects. He applied for revaluation. He expected that his son would secure 60 marks in Mathematics and more than 60 in other three subjects. He applied for revaluation of answer sheets by paying Rs 3,600.

Bhukya Ganesh, a student of Pragnya Junior College in Narsampet, said he got 17 marks in Maths A and 8 marks in Maths B. There is some goof-up somewhere. He said his parents with great difficulty paid Rs 35,000 for his studies. Telangana Parents Association demanded judicial inquiry into the "goof-up."

Association President N Narayana, speaking to the media at Sundarayya Vignana Kendram, questioned the State government as to why it released grades of students along with marks. The students and parents demand that the State government do justice.

-M Yanadi Reddy