Protest by a group of students at Osmania University demanding changes in the eligibility criteria delayed the announcement of A.P. State Eligibility Test (APSET) results on Thursday.
The OU Vice Chancellor, S. Satyanarayana, was confined to his lodge by a group of students belonging to the Telangana Vidyarthi Parishad (TVP) when he was getting ready to release the results.
During the three-hour protest, the Vice Chancellor tried to convince the students that the norms were framed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and altering them was impossible, but students did not relent.
Senior teachers from the university who reached the venue also tried to impress upon them that APSET was a prestigious exam given to the OU and such protests would only harm the university's image. But students were insisting on changing the norms before the release of results itself. Their major demand was to reduce the minimum eligibility mark for SC, ST and BC students. Other student groups were, however, in favour of the release of results.
Later, the Vice Chancellor agreed to take up the issue with the higher authorities if the students gave a representation. Representatives of other student groups also joined and submitted a representation with their demands like reducing the overall cut-off percentage, working out separate cut-off percentage for every subject and implementation of reservations in deciding the eligibility in each subject.
Prof. Satyanaraya told The Hindu that the demands were placed before senior officials. However, they were rejected stating that changes cannot be made since UGC rules have to be followed.
Among the 96,954 students who appeared for the test in 24 subjects, 32,655 candidates secured more than the minimum qualifying mark. However, only 8,004 were declared eligible for Assistant Professorship and Lectureship.
The cut-off percentage was decided by a committee consisting of UGC representatives and Vice Chancellors of some State universities. This year the cut-off percentage was 65 per cent for general candidates, 60 per cent for BC candidates and 55 per cent for SC, ST and physically challenged. However, cut-offs were higher for Telugu, Education and Physical Education due to high number of qualified candidates. In such cases, the cut-off percentage is increased to ensure that not more than 25 per cent of the appeared candidates get eligibility.
This is done as per UGC guidelines by the Moderation Committee,” says B. Rajeshwar Reddy, Member Secretary, APSET. “Students are under the wrong impression that candidates clearing the exam will be declared eligible.” Later, the APSET results were released and can be accessed on ‘www.osmania.ac.in’, ‘www.apset.org’, ‘www.manabadi.com’, ‘www.schools9.com’, ‘www.vidyavision.com’ and ‘www.bharatstudent.com’.
