Scholars differed over whether the student's report should be accepted when the teacher only says “I do not remember” or “I do not recognize it.” The text treats acceptance as the stronger position, assuming the student's transmission is dependable and no further damaging defect is established.
The reasoning is that a witness positively remembering an act of hearing may preserve information now forgotten by the teacher. Present inability to recall does not positively disprove the student's past reception.
This is not a universal rule that students outrank teachers. A categorical denial or independent evidence undermining the account can alter the judgment.