The Governor and Chancellor of universities in the State has asked the Vice Chancellor of the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) Kuncheria Isaac to involve Education Minister C. Ravindranath in the talks scheduled on November 8 with student representatives over the ‘year out’ issue.
Dr. Isaac has called a meeting of student representatives to discuss the issue against which students of the university are on the warpath. “The Governor said he would speak with the Education Minister about this,” Dr. Isaac said.
HC verdict
The academic committee and the governing council of the university have decided against amending the ‘year out’ system which, in essence, mandates that students have to score a minimum number of credits in the lower semesters if they have to move on to the higher semesters. “The High Court has also ordered against tampering with the present ‘year out’ system or abandoning it outright,” Dr. Isaac said.
State secretary of the All India Save Education Committee Shajar Khan, who is scheduled to take part in the talks, said the ‘year out’ system should not be made applicable to the current batch of students from semesters one to four. Moreover, additional supplementary examinations should be conducted to facilitate failed students to clear all papers. “A long-term solution lies in giving admission only to meritorious students. Students who scrape past the entrance examinations are now finding that they cannot cope with the rigours of the B.Tech. programme,” he added.
