THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The University of Kerala is groping in the dark after NorkaROOTS wrote to the varsity demanding details of the dubious mark lists of 717 candidates and also the degree certificates awarded to some of these candidates. The mark lists turned dubious after glaring anomalies were detected in the award of moderation marks for career-related degree courses between 2016 and 2019.
The university, which blamed ‘software error’ as the reason for the fiasco has been unable to ascertain how many degree certificates were issued on the basis of incorrectly awarded marks and has not taken any steps to revoke such dubious certificates.
NorkaROOTS had written to the varsity last month seeking details of the doubtful mark lists and degree certificates on the basis of media reports. “Many people come to Norka to attest certificates for overseas jobs and to study abroad. In order to make the attestation process easier and transparent, the university is requested to send details of mark lists and certificates of the candidates whose pass has been declared invalid,” the Certificate Authentication Officer of Norka wrote to KU Registrar on November 18. A copy of the letter is in the possession of TNIE.
A similar letter was also issued to the Mahatma Gandhi University demanding details of the 119 BTech students who passed the course after a special moderation.After the award of special moderation through an adalat was found to be illegal, the degree certificates of the 119 candidates were declared invalid by the varsity Syndicate. “Both the letters were issued on the same date. We have received details sought from the MG University. But the details from KU are still awaited,” said a source from NorkaROOTS.
More delay expected
When contacted, KU Vice Chancellor V P Mahadevan Pillai told TNIE that the university was still ascertaining exact details of the candidates who were wrongly awarded extra marks. “Of the 717 candidates, 319 had already downloaded the marklists. The university also needs to find out how many of these students were awarded degree certificates. We have written to NorkaROOTS seeking more time to collect the details,” he added.