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Semester woes of postgraduate students

THIRUVANANTHPAURAM: The students of the semester-based postgraduate courses of the University of Kerala are in danger of losing an academic year - thanks to the varsity administration that is yet to get the hang of the ‘semester-mode’ of functioning.

Students of the final semester M.A./M.Sc./M.Com. courses (2007 admissions) are the ones in immediate danger of losing an academic year.

Their final examinations got over in the last week of June and results are expected only in August or September. This means that those looking for admissions in universities / institutes outside the University of Kerala may have to wait a year for that.

If things continue as they are students now in their second semester (S-2) would be able to finish their final semester (S-4) course work only in July 2010. Their results would then be out only by October, or even later, that year. The most obvious reason for all this is the two-month vacation granted by the university for college teachers this March 2009 — a break which flies in the face of the semester logic.

The S-4 examinations which could have been held by the end of April, began only on June 14. Moreover, the S-2 examinations are scheduled to begin on August 14. When many teachers, particularly of science subjects, pointed out to the university that this semester would not get 90 working days as mandated, some university officials reportedly responded that the 90 days would include the days on which examinations are held and not just the teaching days in a semester.

“College teachers are entitled to a vacation. Last year itself there was confusion over the benefits that teachers would get if they forgo their two-month vacation. Ideally they should get leave credited and should be able to surrender that leave. I understand that last year some teachers got those benefits and many did not. So, this year, teachers did not want to take chances. While there were some classes in April, there were none in May,” a teacher in a leading city college told The Hindu on Tuesday.

These problems have also caught the attention of parents. At a recent PTA meeting at a city college, there was widespread concern among parents when teachers explained the potential danger of course lags under the semester system. There was also a feeling of helplessness tinged with anger at the ‘as usual’ manner in which the varsity is responding to this issue.

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