MADURAI: When P Kiran (name changed) received his semester marksheet, he was eager to see the grades that he secured, but instead what caught his eye was not the grades nor the pass percentile but the fact that he had been studying in a women’s college for the past one year. This is not the situation of Kiran alone but of 200 boys who face an uncertain future.
On Wednesday, more than 50 students from the private self-financing college in Virudhunagar staged a sit-in protest in front of the Registrar's office at Madurai Kamaraj University (MKU) alleging that the college administration had misled them about its status. The students, after getting their semester marksheets, saw that the college still maintains its status as a self-financing women’s college.
The issue dates back to the academic year of 2023-24, when the college, which was started in 1994 as an Arts and Science institution for women, admitted male students, assuring them that the college would soon receive co-educational status. Though boys have been enrolled every year since then, the institution has yet to obtain official approval for the change.
Speaking to TNIE, Kiran said he and others wrote all their semester examinations like any other non-autonomous college students and received their results from MKU. “But our semester marksheets mention that we are studying in a self-financing women’s college. Because of this discrepancy, the college management has not issued the marksheets to us. They keep assuring us that once co-educational status is granted, the marksheets will be corrected and distributed,” he said.
Another student, M Krishnan (name changed), said that around 400 students are currently enrolled in the college, of whom nearly 50% are boys. “Since we have not received our semester marksheets, final-year students are unable to apply for postgraduate courses. Likewise, PG students cannot apply for higher studies or jobs. We urge CM MK Stalin and higher education authorities to intervene and resolve this issue at the earliest,” he appealed.
A senior official from the Higher Education Department said colleges usually obtain co-educational status within six months by submitting the required documents.
“In this case, the college appears to have focused more on admitting students than on completing the formalities. Once approval is given, the university can reissue the marksheets.However, parents may have to bear the additional cost of reprinting the corrected marksheets due to the college’s negligence,” the official pointed out. TNIE tried to contact Registrar (i/c) M Ramakrishnan, but he was unavailable for comment.
Regional Joint Director of Collegiate Education V Kalaiselvi said, “We have forwarded all the necessary documents to the Higher Education Department in Chennai. The approval is expected soon.”