Purnia: The ongoing turmoil surrounding the revised results of the PhD Admission Test (PAT) 2023 has forced Purnia University to halt interview proceedings for the second consecutive day.
Interviews for successful candidates were scheduled to begin on 20 June, but disruptions by aggrieved students brought the process to a standstill. On Saturday, the university confirmed it had once again refrained from proceeding with interviews due to the continued uproar.
Speaking to the media, University spokesperson Professor Santosh Kumar Singh said that the administration will soon take a decision on how to proceed. “The matter is under review. A formal announcement will be made shortly,” he added. The issue stems from a revised PAT 2023 result, which was released after initial enrolment plans were postponed due to multiple complaints. The revised list significantly altered the outcome — 76 candidates who had initially cleared the exam were declared failed, while around 100 new names appeared among the successful candidates.
A total of 790 candidates applied for PAT 2023 across 19 subjects. The written test was held on 27 October 2024, with 545 appearing and 268 initially declared successful. Interviews were first conducted in February, and results were published on 11 March. However, following student objections, the university reviewed and released a revised result.
Student leader Vikram Paswan, who is leading the protests, alleged discrepancies in the re-evaluation process. “The re-checking of PAT answer sheets was not conducted according to standard rules. We will not allow the interviews to proceed unless transparency is ensured,” he said.
