THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The variation in grace marks and credits awarded by universities in the state for co-curricular activities of students will soon be a thing of the past.
Universities in the state are set to adopt a uniform criteria for providing additional weightage to students of the Four Year Undergraduate programme (FYUGP) for their participation in sports, cultural events and voluntary service through National Service Scheme (NSS) and the National Cadet Corps (NCC).
The uniform guidelines, evolved under the aegis of the Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), are under various stages of implementation by state universities. “In order to lessen the issues related to award of grace mark to students, universities are also developing suitable online mechanisms for the purpose,” Rajan Varughese, member secretary of KSHEC told TNIE.
The guidelines issued by KSHEC to universities also grant flexibility to students to opt for either grace marks or credits for their performance and achievements in co-curricular activities.
These credits will be awarded based on verified participation and can be applied to any Value-Added Course (VAC) under FYUGP. Upon earning three credits, students are deemed to have passed a VAC. Participation in NSS and NCC activities will also fetch credits for students who opt for it. Those who complete minimum regular activities of 240 hours including one special camp (seven days) will be awarded three credits and will be considered as one VAC.
In the case of NCC, students who participate in the prescribed activities with 75% attendance or above in three years will be awarded three credits, which will be equivalent to one VAC.
For sports, students qualifying and representing the nation in Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games will be entitled to receive 52 credits directly. Students will also be given provision to earn up to 12 credits for participation in structured training programmes based on their performance evaluation by the competent authority.
The grace marks for sports and cultural activities at college level will be limited to events included in the annual sports calendar or the youth festivals conducted by the respective universities.
The grace marks for each performance of an athlete or a performer at different levels in different competitions will be cumulatively added annually.
In the case of sports events, grace marks can be accumulated up to a maximum of 25% per annum while for cultural events, the ceiling is 20%.
If a student chooses credits instead of grace marks, the credits can be accumulated to a maximum of 25% of the total required credit per semester in the case of sports. For cultural events, the maximum limit is 20%. The eligible grace marks /credits shall be evenly distributed across all papers /courses of an examination, ensuring fairness and equity in their application.
NEW GUIDELINES
SPORTS
Credits: Up to 52
Grace marks: Up to 25
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES
Credits: Up to 20%
per semester
Grace marks: Up to 6%
NCC
Credits: 3
Grace marks: Up to 12%
NSS
Credits: 3
Grace marks: Up to 7%