Instead of giving Answer in yes or No, I will put some facts and situation and let readers decide on it. I will specifically seek comments from readers who are CA Students (Past or Presents), Members of CA fraternity and those who has worked as examiner or in any role in examination process.
This article is important to discuss for noble profession of CA and all those who are either Associated or Planning to be associated with this profession and for all those parents, who are thinking to make their children CA.
As this article is lengthy. Hence you can directly read summary and get a gist of it.
Just to mention every change starts from an idea.
Let's go in details: -
Why wild fluctuation in Pass Percentage: - CA Pass percentage vary wildly from mere 3% to 20%, (Ref. Key Statics on pass percentage on ICAI Website) While institute can give any explanation, The Simple Question is when 90% of same students (Who failed in last Attempt) reappear in next attempt Why the results vary so much. No other examination’s results swing so wildly. It simply difficult to accept it as a co-incidence or Natural Phenomenon.
Although The Institute has a Simple Recipe to cook the Result, Tough Papers, Tough Marking, and Tough Result. Easy paper, loose marking, Good Result and Moderating of Result as provided in CA Regulation39 (2) of CA Act 1949.
Impact on Students: - Consider the impact, in Tough season even a Deserving student will fail, while in Green season even undeserving become CA. Further these green and Dry Spell are depending on Economy and there is no set terms, when the dry spell will end, it may continue to 3-4 year at a stretch. By the time Green Season will come again a deserving student might bow out the CA course itself. Is it not unfair to a deserving student, whose all-hard word of year, 1000 Hrs of Study go down the drains, just because when his attempt was due ICAI decided to tighten the Tap. Is it not Unfair to his Poor family who waited patiently so that once his son become a CA they will afford a good life.
Impact on Profession: - Although Institute may never accept it but facts clearly say that it can’t be normal to have such abnormal Result pattern. If it is true then ICAI is going beyond its call of duty by controlling the result and doing gross injustice to Deserving CA Students. Even if one single deserving Student doesn’t become a CA due to such practices, is it not a loss to whole profession?
However If I am not wrong there are thousands of such deserving CA students abandoning their Dream to Become CA, Courtesy to so-called Quality control by ICAI.
2. Why CA result is Linked to Economy:- Sounds weird but a fact backed by data , Ask Any CA student or CA Faculty (Off course Off the Records) and most of them will accept it. The Forbes India has done an Analysis on that (Refer:- https://forbesindia.com/article/numerix/fewer-students-are-passing-the-ca). While ICAI will never accept it on Record the smoke is definitely not without fire.
Impact on Students:- Now as a Students you can only work hard, you can’t Control economy, Then why to punish students for a reason which is beyond their control. Now some of you may argue only those who falls on borderline gets impacted if Pass percentage gets reduced. My Simple answer is, do you know what will be borderline this time. The Institute keeps it shifting by reducing 5% to 20% from your deserving Marks. In CA Exams even a Single mark can change the future of a CA Students, Just imagine the number of students get impacted when ICAI tighten the Marking and reduce 5% from deserved marks.
The basic question is still there, is it ethically, morally or legally right to manipulate results?
Impact on Profession: - This kind of Practices produces a Crop of uneven quality of CA. You might have come across a CA, who even don’t know how to talk and you might be thinking, How he become CA? Sometime you might have come across some successful tax consultant or Business-man Who is a CA dropout (or Bow-out) and you might be thinking, why he is not a CA?
I meet such personalities almost on daily basis. Sometimes quality gets so much worse that Mr. Narayan Murthy have to write a letter to Institute & Many Court had passed scathing comments on quality of CA.
3) Why there is Power to manipulate marks? :- In terms of Regulation 39(2) of the CA Regulations 1988,the Council of the Institute may, in its discretion, revise the marks obtained by all the candidates or a section of candidates in any particular paper or papers or in the aggregate in such manner as may be considered necessary, for maintaining the pass percentage provided in the regulations. This is Straight Lift from CA Act 1949.
Now the First Question why such power is required?
ICAI says “To smooth out the Result or to rectify the Error by examiner. However I have few questions, Can an Examiner afford to do mistake in an Exam of such caliber?
Second, Why Result needs to be smoothened?
ICAI Says sometime paper is tough hence additional mark is given, Sometime Paper is so easy hence they need to reduce marks to control the quality of Result. ICAI representative also tells they use it for the benefit of Students.
However I doubts, “If institute has used it for benefit of CA Students, the Pass percentage might be different”
Why ICAI which all the time teach students about standards can’t produce two standard Question paper which don’t require such intervention of ICAI. What is fault of Student if so called Expert and Experience Papers setters are can’t deliver two standard papers per year.
However the Fact is this is the Last tool, which ICAI uses to control the Pass Percentage in guise of Quality control.
Why there is no Provision for Revaluation? Now think about a scenario, A CA students paper is screwed by an Examiner and the student want it to be rechecked, but sadly its not possible as there is only provision for retotaling and to check if there is any question is not valued. What if over speeding examiner has screwed my paper, Will I get another it checked again. As per ICAI “ NO”. The next question is Why? ICAI don’t have any proper justification for same apart from covering it up with technical and administrative difficulties.
The Hidden Answers is ICAI is Salman Khan and once it commits something even ICAI can’t change it. Mind it, they have committed the pass percentage. Is it not a tool to control the result?
Impact on Students:- What is a fault of Student if his paper is screwed by Examiner. Shouldn’t be it given another chance? Why ICAI is shying away from rechecking a Paper,when ICAI believes everything is True & Fair?
Why there is no Provision to revalue the paper when so many other examinations do It?
Impact on Profession:- Needless to mention Each time a CA student fails, his career prospectus, Confidence and Self respect take a hit,And if he fails due to mistake of others and denied justice his respect & Faith towards ICAI and CA profession itself also takes a dent.
Now I leave, it on Readers to decide If the Rumor is true or not.
Now the next big question is why ICAI does that? This topic I will cover in my next Article.
P. S.
Some Amazing fact: -
1. CA Pass Percentage is only 0.06% Means if 1 Lakh Students sits for CPT only 60 Student make it to CA, While Same Percentage of IIT is 2% means CA is toughest exam in Country or Even in world.
2. IIT average starting Salary is 12-15 lakhs while CA it is 4-6 lakhs
3. There are 11.50 CA Student at this time white total CA till date from 1949 are Just 2.49 Lakhs. I don't Know about students but these Big numbers of Students are helping CA firms to get More Article and to get more students to Coaching classes. But how it is helping ICAI ? If you know please tell me.
My observation:-If any University got only 0.06% pass percentage I am damn sure Govt. might have closed it long back, But ICAI not only surviving but thriving, It all happens in India
Such a Poor result, is it all due to Students?
Definitely lets blame to Students, but ICAI should also take some credit. From past 60 years it is successfully not let students understand what exactly it wants? It is delivering surprises and shock years after year by either giving Lengthy Questions, Errors and sometime bouncers as well. I am still wondering what is the main objective of ICAI? It seems Institute need just students and articles but not more CA.
CAclubindia
