LAHORE, April 20: A controversy about the change of top position in the postgraduate diploma (PGD) in computer science surfaced when the top position holder was refused the honour at the sixth convocation of the Allama Iqbal Open University (Punjab chapter) held at Aiwan-i-Iqbal on Tuesday.
The hue and cry made by the aggrieved candidate, Saira Riaz, at the convocation's rehearsal on Monday, however, led the university on Tuesday to withhold the award of the gold medal until the situation was cleared.
AIOU vice-chancellor Prof Dr Syed Altaf Husain and the controller of examinations, Dr Faqir Husain, gave contrasting statements on the issue. Ms Riaz, a student of the university's Autumn 2000 and Spring 2001 semesters (roll No J5692685 and registration No 00-POA-1269), had appeared in both examinations. She secured 409 and 404 marks out of 500 marks in each semester. With the aggregate 813 marks, she stood first.
However, her classfellow Mufassara Naz, having 805 aggregate marks out of 1,000 marks, was considered first at the convocation's rehearsal. Ms Riaz raised a hue and cry against the university's decision at the rehearsal as she deserved to be declared the position holder and not Ms Naz.
The vice-chancellor and the controller of exams told reporters that an unfair means case (UMC) was registered against some candidates, including Ms Riaz, because they had walked out of a paper.
It is learnt that around 50 students, appearing in the fifth paper (CCS-3424) during the first semester's examination, had walked out of the examination centre protesting that they had been asked to attempt a 'leaked out' paper.
Ms Naz was also among those who had staged the walkout. The candidates had claimed that the paper was leaked out and the university had changed it in all regions except Lahore. They said some students had possessed a faxed copy of the paper a day before the examination. This situation, they maintained, had led them to the walkout.
The UMC case was still pending against Ms Riaz when the university decided to award the first position to Ms Naz, the second highest aggregate marks holder, disregarding the fact the UMC case was also applicable to her.
Meanwhile, the UMC case was decided and Ms Riaz was exonerated. Accordingly, the administration also issued her the revised result intimation card (combined) on April 16, 2002. However, the university still declined to award her the gold medal.
Ms Riaz told newsmen that the university did not even invite her to the convocation. She said she had come to the ceremony to register her protest with the university's senior officials.
"I was surprised when Mufassara was called as the top position holder during the rehearsal on Monday," Ms Riaz said, who kept crying during the proceedings of convocation on Tuesday. In reply to a question, the vice-chancellor said the UMC decision was pending against Ms Riaz but the toppers' list was finalized in the meantime.
Though the vice-chancellor admitted that the first position and gold medal should not have been announced when the UMC case was still pending, he explained that such mistakes did happen in the university because of the huge number of candidates involved.
He, however, promised that Ms Riaz would be awarded her due gold medal at the next convocation. "Though Saira was exonerated in the UMC before the convocation, the university could not offer her the gold medal as it had already engraved the name of Mufassara on the gold medal," the vice-chancellor said.