TIRUVANANTHAPURAM : In a favourable verdict for a section of PG students under the University of Kerala, the High Court has ordered the Vice-Chancellor to postpone the PG examination as many colleges did not complete the minimum of 90 working days or 450 working hours. In his judgment, A Muhammed Mustaque said the Vice-Chancellor should also intervene in the matter and direct the principals of all affiliated colleges to make up the shortage in completing the working days. However, the university has decided to file an appeal challenging the verdict.
Earlier, a section of final year postgraduate students of Kerala University had filed a writ petition in High Court seeking postponement of semester examinations scheduled to begin on August 17, citing insufficient working days. The decision to move legally was taken by the PG students’ forum after the indefinite protest meeting called by them had failed to yield any result.
Hailing the verdict, Shereef Chithara, president of the students’ collective, said the court order was a blessing for many students. However, the student’s forum has also expressed apprehension about the university’s move. “We can’t expect this from a responsible body. We have requested only to conduct examinations after completing sufficient working days. If the university challenges the verdict, we will also proceed with the legal battle,” said Shereef.
As per schedule, classes for the fourth semester should have started in January. However, the classes began only on March 12. According to UGC, a semester is to be completed in 90 working days. Many students haven’t completed projects as they got only 35 working days. A few students had alleged they did not get enough time to prepare for the exams. The university has postponed the examination from August 10 to 17 recently owing to the protests.