Candidates Allege CA Paper Revaluation Error: ICAI Thinking to Form Committee Under Pressure
The 2019 CA exam candidates protest in front of the ICAR Headquarters demanding re-checking of the CA papers as they have alleged error in the evaluation process.
Finally after a 6-day long protest of the students alleging misconduct in the paper checking of ICAI CA Foundation and Intermediate, Director of ICAI, Mr Prafulla Chhajed said that they are planning to deploy a Committee to look into the matter and address the allegation of the students who are demanding a recheck of ICAI CA Intermediate and Foundation Papers.
Still, he informed that the examinations conducted by ICAI follow some pre-decided standards for copy checking for multiple level monitoring, quality assurance and award proper marks in an error-free mode.
On Thursday, 26th September, The ICAI Director Chhajed met the press in a press conference where he informed that a committee to address the grievances of the protesting students will be set up after he discusses the issue with council members. Students will be guided by giving them the next roadmap.
ICAI Committee to Look into Suggestions Received on Improving CA Exam Process
ICAI has set up a high-level committee to look into the suggestions made by students and stakeholders regarding the CA examination process. The committee was formed in September following protests from students who were demanding revaluation of their CA exam answer sheets.
The committee had a meeting on October 7, 2019, and invited suggestions from stakeholders regarding the examination processes and changes in the exam.
What Happened Before?
The CA candidates in Delhi lodged a protest outside the ICAR headquarters in New Delhi alleging massive errors in the paper checking process in the CA examinations. The 2019 CA candidates gathered with placards in their hands outside ICAR headquarters to demand re-checking of the papers. Some also demanded change in the paper-checking policies.
The ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) had released the CA Final and CA Foundation result on 13th August 2019 followed by the result for 2019 CA Intermediate exam on 23rd August 2019.
The ICAI has recently issued a notification for switching to the digital mode of CA paper revaluation after some 'adverse reports' were received by them relating to the evaluation of answer books of CA qualifying exams.
Rejection of Candidates’ Claims by ICAI Before
On 24th September, Tuesday, the CA body said through a notification that the CA Regulations allow correction of marks awarded only in case if no marks awarded to any answer or the part of an answer; totalling errors occurred in step-wise marks awarded for an answer; error in carrying forward of marks or its part of marks awarded to an answer on the cover page of the answer books.
Ms Amrita Nath, a CA candidate expressed her dissatisfaction over the ICAI’s firm decision of not evaluating the answer sheets. Ms Nath has informed that a representative team of the protestors met the authorities and informed that the protests will continue till their demands of paper rechecking are met.
The candidates from different part of the country gathered in front of the ICAI headquarters to protest and demand evaluation. Candidates also took on twitter to spread awareness about the discrepancy in CA paper checking. The candidates have produced proofs from their end alleging discrepancy in paper checking.
ICAI has said that the all CA papers (intermediate and foundation) of November 2019 and May 2020 examination session will be evaluated in digital methods.
The new digital paper evaluation method will not only lead to efficiency in the CA paper checking process but it will also help in evaluating the performance of the examiners. The process will be done in real-time, and performance and quality check reports will also be generated.
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Responding to the rumours doing rounds on social media, ICAI stated that students should not pay heed to any kind of rumours as ICAI stands committed to addressing their genuine concerns. Still, there has been no response so far by ICAI regarding the re-evaluation demand of the candidates.