THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The University of Kerala has decided to cancel the degree certificates awarded to 23 students of career-related undergraduate courses during the 2016 to 2019 period. The senate of the varsity took the decision after it was detected in November last year that these students passed the course on the basis of moderation marks that were erroneously awarded to them. The decision of the senate will be communicated to the Chancellor - Governor Arif Mohammed Khan - for his approval. An inquiry was launched by the university after the moderation marks fiasco came to light. The inquiry concluded that “software error” was the reason why the marks were erroneously awarded to the students.
Even though the decision to cancel the degree certificates was taken much earlier, a senate meeting in February did not consider the matter. Meanwhile, the Norka Department had sought a report from the varsity after it came to light that many students had obtained jobs overseas using the degree certificates that were later declared void.
Other decisions
The senate meeting, which was held in online mode, approved all degrees and diplomas awarded by the University till date. It also approved equivalency for 131 degree and PG courses offered by other universities and research institutions. The senate also decided to rename the Sophisticated Instrumentation and Computation Centre at Kariavattom campus as ‘Central Laboratory For Instrumentation and Facilitation (CLIF).The topics that were discussed in the online senate meeting included converting exams into online mode, starting of new courses, matters relating to temporary faculty and implementation of Fit India project.