D.P. Godwin Samraj, former Principal, Malabar Christian College, Kozhikode, has been appointed as the new Controller of Examinations, University of Calicut.
The decision was taken at a meeting of the Syndicate held on Saturday. The tenure of C.C. Babu, the incumbent, will end on January 31. The meeting also decided to appoint John Kurian as the new finance officer.
The meeting authorised Vice Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj to take an appropriate decision on holding students’ union polls in affiliated colleges by February-end or March first week, considering the COVID-19 situation.
The university had in 2019 curtailed the voting rights of university union councillors (UUC) from self-financing colleges. The Kerala High Court struck down the decision after the UUCs filed a petition against it. The Syndicate decided to continue the system that was in vogue before 2019.
Fifth semester undergraduate examinations would be held as per schedule and technical help would be provided to colleges to download question papers online. The colleges would be given ₹4 per question paper towards the cost of downloading and taking printouts.
Sexual harassment issue
The Syndicate approved the findings of an internal inquiry committee that found Harris Kodampuzha, a teacher with the English Department, guilty of committing sexual harassment. Mr. Harris was suspended from service in 2021 July.
Complaint rejected
A subcommittee of the Syndicate rejected the complaint by P.C. Ancy Bay, who accused M. Sreekala, Assistant Professor, Department of Russian and Comparative Literature, of plagiarising her research thesis. The Syndicate approved the conclusions of the committee.
The university would request the UGC to give it more time for registration for undergraduate and postgraduate courses under the School of Distance Education. This is in the wake of complaints that the admission proceedings were wrapped up in a hurry, leading to many students losing their chance to apply for the courses. New teachers would be appointed in Calicut University Teachers’ Education Centres.
