Kerala University exams: PG students to approach HC seeking postponement
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A section of the final year postgraduate students of Kerala University are set to file a writ petition in the High Court on Tuesday seeking to postpone the semester examinations scheduled to begin from August 10, citing insufficient working days. The decision to move legally was taken by the student representatives after the indefinite protest meeting called by them on Monday failed due to the lack of participation from the students of colleges in the capital.
The indefinite strike was planned to protest against the university’s decision to conduct examinations from the scheduled date. According to Shereef Chithara, president of the students’ collective, pressure from the Left student outfits had led to the lack of participation as members of the syndicate and the colleges were politically biased.
“We have decided to move legally. The university said the initial date announced was on July 30 and it was postponed to August 10 for convenience. But that’s not true. The original date was August 10 and the varsity is playing with the future of students who wish to go for higher studies. SFI too is playing politics with the future of students. Most students are in Thiruvananthapuram and they had been threatened by SFI,” said Shereef, a student of MSM College, Kayamkulam.
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 alleged they didn’t get enough time to prepare for the exams.
Meanwhile, controller of Examinations K Madhukumar told Express that other student representatives had met him with demands not to postpone the examinations. “Student representatives have approached me. In fact, we have postponed the exams to August 10 from July 30. If we postpone, the exams can be conducted only after Onam. The students can’t go for higher studies” he said.