The state higher education department has sought a report from Jadavpur University over the alleged lapses in evaluating the answer scripts of journalism and mass communication students, said an official of the department.

The JU teachers who met the vice-chancellor on Tuesday said they told the university authorities to get the scripts of all students evaluated by external examiners.

On Monday, the department’s students locked the door of a former head of the department to protest the alleged lapses.

“We have sought a report from the university regarding the complaints of lapses
that have triggered student protests,” said an official in the higher education department.

The protesting students locked the door of the room shared by Santwan Chattopadhyay, a former head of the department, and Abhisekh Das, an assistant professor, on Monday afternoon.

Protests erupted in the department after it emerged that a paper in the second-semester examination was not allegedly evaluated.

The room has not yet been unlocked with the students demanding that the two teachers, who have been showcaused by the university, be suspended.

The teachers who met the VC on Tuesday afternoon said they too sought a
probe into the complaints of lapses but criticised the students’ decision to lock
the teachers’ room, calling it “unfortunate”.

“The students are unwilling to wait for the outcome of a probe and are deciding on their own who would be suspended. That is unacceptable,” said Partha Pratim Roy, the secretary of the university’s teachers’ association.

“We have told the VC that the teachers want to relieve themselves of the responsibility of evaluation. We want the university to get all answer scripts evaluated by the external examiners following the allegations.”

An official in the higher education department told this newspaper: “While the university’s report is awaited, the registrar has told us that the allegations are true.”

JU registrar Snehamanju Basu declined to comment.

Parthasarathi Chakrabarty, the head of the journalism and mass communication department, said: “A meeting of the board of studies has been called on Wednesday to discuss the issue and resolve the stalemate.”

Sagir Piyada, a protesting student, said: “We won’t withdraw our protests till the teachers (Santwan Chattopadhyay and Abhisekh Das) are suspended.”