5 days ago
Marks ledger confidential, cannot be shared with students, says Pune University
The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has declined to furnish the ledger of marks requested by an undergraduate law student at an affiliated college through a Right To Information (RTI) request, saying that the document is confidential. Colleges must provide marks to individual students if requested, however a copy of the ledger of marks cannot be provided, university officials said.
The student Ganesh Chavan said, 'The mark sheets provided to us contain only grades and CGPA. This means we don't know our exact marks. While applying for an internship the firm asked me for the marks I have scored. LLM admissions in India or abroad also require the exact marks. Some scholarships require us to provide marks. Self-improvement is also difficult without knowing our own marks. But the university says that the marks document is confidential. How can my personal marks ledger be confidential for me?'
The RTI was filed on June 25 requesting a certified copy of Chavan's personal marks ledger for the LLB Credit Pattern 2023 MAR/APR 2025 (4th semester) exam. In his request, Chavan also wrote, 'As per the Supreme Court judgment in CBSE v. Aditya Bandopadhyay (2011), students are entitled to access their own evaluation.' The University denied the request on July 16 by saying that the information requested was of confidential nature.
In a separate RTI, Chavan also requested any documents, notifications, or circulars issued by the University declaring the ledger of marks of a student to be confidential. The reply by the University stated that it was in possession of no such documents.
Professor Prabhakar Desai, Officiating Director of the Board of Examinations and Evaluation at SPPU, said, 'The second RTI reply is not appropriate. It was a misinterpretation or miscommunication from the side of the department. But I will explain the rationale about why we can't share the ledger. The student can request college to ask to see the marks ledger, not the university. It is available for viewing. But a copy of the ledger itself cannot be provided to the student as a page contains marks of other students as well, which are confidential.'
Desai added that now, according to University Grants Commission guidelines, grades and cumulative grade point average (CGPA) was provided to students on their mark sheets instead of their marks. 'But if a student requests to see his marks, the college should provide the certified marks in any required format. It is the student's right. However if the marks ledger is requested, that will not be provided. We cannot hide other student's marks or edit the ledger page as it is an official document.'
Chavan countered this by saying, 'The marks ledgers of many colleges under SPPU are uploaded on their websites and are accessible to the whole world. Anyone can download them. Does the rule of confidentiality not apply there?'
Soham is a Correspondent with the Indian Express in Pune.
A journalism graduate, he was a fact-checker before joining the Express. Soham currently covers education and is also interested in civic issues, health, human rights, and politics. ... Read More
