Higher Education Minister K.T Jaleel has said that Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala is spreading baseless allegations that moderation marks were awarded to students of Mahatma Gandhi University.
Speaking to media here on Thursday, the Minister said moderation was routine. Moderation of five marks was given to students who had failed in one subject in the examination. More than 150 students benefited from this.
In 2012, the UDF-administered Syndicate had awarded 20 marks as moderation at the Calicut University. However, if the Opposition leader wanted to stop moderation in examinations, he could say so. The State government would consider it, he said.
The Minister clarified that his private secretary was inaugurating the university adalat. At no point did he interfere in the adalat. Moderation was not decided during the adalat, he said.
Mr. Jaleel said moderation can be recommended by the Pass Board and the Board of Studies. The decision was made by the Syndicate, he said.
The Minister said at the inauguration of the adalat, the certificates were issued to students, who were already approved by Syndicate. His private secretary is also a retired university secretary. The inaugural footage of the adalat, which he attended, was posted live on the university's Facebook page. This was what some were promoting as a new phenomenon, he said.
“The Syndicate is responsible for the conduct of the examination and the declaration of results. There is no rule to decide the moderation before the result. Academic standards of universities have improved. Examinations are conducted on time and results are announced properly.
Mr. Chennithala, who is calling for an investigation in the marks controversy of Mahatma Gandhi University, should be ready to seek an inquiry into the Civil Services examination of 2017. Without naming the politician, Mr. Jaleel said son of a prominent politician in Kerala got more marks for the interview in the Civil Services examination.
He alleged that the leader had increased the mark of his son by lobbying in Delhi.
In the examination, the topper got 950 marks, while the politician's son got 828 marks. In the interview, the topper got 176 marks. But the leader's son got 206 marks.
