KOCHI: The Higher Education Department is likely to ask the Mahatma Gandhi University syndicate to waive off the ₹10 lakh fine imposed on the autonomous Maharaja’s College for not subscribing to the varsity’s evaluation norms for various postgraduate examinations.
People close to the development said they would request the authorities to waive off the fine as a one-time measure, considering that Maharaja’s College was the only government college among autonomous institutions in the State.
However, the department made it clear that it would issue a “warning” to the college authorities for not meeting the norms. The department will place its suggestion before the syndicate to view it as a “first offence”.
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The department will soon hold a meeting of the syndicate members in an effort to resolve the deadlock. For the record, the certificates of nearly 250 students of the 2015-17 batch, who had completed various postgraduate courses from the college, had been put on hold by the varsity owing to the failure of the college authorities to pay the fine amount. Also, the management had sought the advice of the Higher Education Department on ways to resolve the issue.
Indirect grading
At a hearing held on September 28, the college authorities had informed the varsity that the decision to implement indirect grading, instead of direct grading, for examinations held for the 2015-17 postgraduate batches was taken on the basis of guidelines issued by the varsity to chairmen of various boards of studies.
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They were told to change the evaluation of answer sheets to indirect grading instead of direct grading on the basis of reforms implemented by the varsity for its undergraduate courses.
The board of studies for postgraduate subjects, academic council, and the governing council have also ratified the indirect grading system.
The authorities informed the syndicate that the regulations for postgraduate admission - 2015 were submitted before the varsity for approval.
“We had also requested the varsity to approve the grading pattern implemented for batches that got admitted for various postgraduate courses in 2015, considering its status as a government college,” they said.
The college management had said the regulations for the 2015-16 postgraduate batches were submitted before the varsity in tune with the recommendations of the Autonomy Act. The college went ahead and implemented the regulations in accordance with a provision in the Act that it stands approved automatically, if the varsity does not take a decision within 30 working days after receiving it.