Kerala LLB rank list revamped: Negative marking flaw causes major reshuffle

KOCHI: The Office of the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations has issued a revised provisional rank list for the three-year and five-year LLB entrance examinations following a significant error in the initial valuation process. The mistake occurred because negative marks were not factored into the final scores, leading to a substantial distortion in the candidate rankings.

The computer-based examination was conducted for a total of 360 marks, with a grading scheme awarding three marks for every correct answer and deducting one mark for every incorrect one. The initial rank list, published on the 14th, sparked immediate concern among students who compared their self-calculated scores against the official answer keys and identified the discrepancy.

Following the receipt of over 15 formal complaints, the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations withdrew the initial provisional list from the website. A corrected list was published on the following afternoon, resulting in a major reshuffle of the standings.

The rectification process significantly altered the leaderboard, with many candidates seeing their scores drop by 30 to 50 marks. Consequently, some students witnessed their positions slide by as many as 1,000 places in the ranking, while those who had been unfairly disadvantaged in the first list saw their rankings improve to accurately reflect their performance.

The provisional list includes 2,819 candidates for the three-year LLB course and 4,880 candidates for the five-year integrated course. The prescribed cut-off marks for the entrance exams were set at 36 for the General and OBC categories, and 18 for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe candidates.

The Commissioner for Entrance Examinations attributed the oversight to a technical glitch and stated that the error had been fully rectified in the updated publication. Officials have also announced that an inquiry will be conducted into the incident. The final rank list is expected to be released in early August.