Calicut University’s move to conduct entrance tests criticised

Plan to entrust varsity teachers with question paper setting a violation of rules, says Syndicate member

Calicut University’s move to conduct entrance tests for admissions to postgraduate, M.Phil and Ph.D courses has been criticised for violating rules.

P. Rasheed Ahmed, a Syndicate member backed by the United Democratic Front (UDF), claimed on Tuesday that the plan to entrust the responsibility of preparation of question papers to teachers from the university itself was against its examination rules. The work should be given to external question paper setters as was being done with normal exams. Otherwise, it would put the entire system under the shadow of suspicion, Mr. Ahmed claimed. There are around 38,000 applicants to the seats, he said.

It was mandatory to assign false numbers on answer scripts before the evaluation. The examination rules mandate maintaining confidentiality of the exam, which is the basic right of any candidate. Violation of the rule would also damage the credibility of the exam system and could lead to nepotism in awarding marks, said Mr. Ahmed.

Calicut University had been holding admissions to PG courses in pure science and humanities based on marks and for courses such as journalism through entrance tests. It was made uniform two years ago. In view of the COVID-19 situation this year, there were apprehensions about conducting entrance exams and it was decided to go back to the old system. However, the plan was changed again later. In a letter to M.K. Jayaraj, Vice Chancellor, Mr. Ahmed demanded that a set of guidelines be prepared for the conduct of the entrance tests.