THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The High Court verdict quashing the KEAM engineering entrance rank list has come as a major setback to the state government that carried out an eleventh hour attempt to rectify the “disadvantage” faced by state syllabus students due to the standardisation of marks of various Plus Two boards.
Though stung by the adverse verdict, the government indicated that it will appeal against it before a division bench. “The cabinet will take an appropriate decision on the course of action in the wake of the verdict. The government does not have any vested interest other than ensuring justice to all students,” Higher Education Minister R Bindu said.
Notably, it was not the changes in mark standardisation and weightage norms but the timing of effecting such changes that cost the government dear. Even amid anxiety among students and parents for the past many months that the norms would be changed, the cabinet waited till June 30 to ratify it. This was after all the candidates had submitted the marks of their qualifying exam to be considered with the entrance scores in a 50:50 ratio.
“The cabinet not issuing a formal press note that is customary after taking such a crucial decision was mysterious. Amid the confusion, the government hurriedly announced the results on July 1, just an hour after the changes in prospectus were uploaded online,” said the parent of one of the students who moved the High Court, preferring anonymity.
According to sources, the swift move on the part of the government was to avoid litigation over the changed norms that could further delay the results. “It is pertinent to note that the court has not gone into the merits of the new formula adopted for mark standardisation and weightage,” pointed out a senior official with the office of the Commissioner for Entrance Exams (CEE).
However, the CEE office’s contention that prospectus clauses are subject to change was also dealt a blow when the court stated that the government is denuded of such an option once the exam is conducted. “Rules of the game cannot be changed midway, once the game has begun,” the court underscored.
The Council for CBSE Schools, Kerala (CSSK), welcomed the verdict. “The government should accept the essence of the High Court judgement and correct the discriminatory stance adopted towards students of non-state boards,” CSSK secretary general Indira Rajan said.