In a significant development, Panjab University has upheld its decision to charge Rs 10,000 from any candidate wishing to see his/her answer booklet for any of the entrance exams held by the university.

The only breather is that the fee would be refunded to those candidates whose results change afterrevaluation.

Meanwhile, there is no reason being given why the amount has been fixed as high as Rs 10,000. It is being said that it is the outcome of discussions between few faulty members at PU.

The matter was taken up in the last Syndicate meeting of PU on January 25. Though the proposal of showing answersheets had been accepted, the members had opposed the high fee. The matter was referred to a committee for the final nod.

Professor A K Bhandhari, Controller of Examination and member of the committee, said, "It has been decided that Rs 10,000 would be charged from anyone wanting to see his/her entrance exam answer booklet.The fee would, however, be refunded in case there is a variation in the result."

The decision, meanwhile, has evoked a lot of resentment among both the faculty as well as the students on the campus, who believe that it is an "enormous" sum being charged and needs to be reduced.

A fellow at the university said, "When the matter was being discussed in the Syndicate meeting, it was decided that the fee should be reduced by around 50 per cent. We will look into the matter once it is brought to us for consideration. The amount of Rs 10,000 is too much."

If the faculty is to be believed, there was no "logical thinking" behind fixing the fee as high as Rs 10,000 and the same was fixed only after discussions among a few faculty members.

A proposal to hike the fee for various department prospectuses was also discussed in the last Syndicate meeting and referred to a committee.