APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University’s (KTU) decision to cancel B.Tech examinations of intermediate semesters brought immense relief to many students though for those of the university’s founding batch (2015-19), the move is disconcerting.
The former students of the university have been preparing themselves to appear for the supplementary examinations that are normally held in July. The arrears had prompted many to keep their career plans on hold for a year. The cancellation of the examinations under the extraordinary circumstances, induced by the COVID-19 pandemic, has now raised concern among large sections.
Thiruvananthapuram native Nithin Jagadeesh feared he stood to lose his job if he failed to submit his certificates at the earliest. “Despite having backlogs, I had managed to land myself a job on the condition that I could produce my mark lists and degree certificates within a year. Many like me have been counting on the university to conduct the supplementary examinations,” Mr. Jagadeesh.
The fledgling university’s first batch had seen multiple revisions made to the course regulations. Besides, disorder ensued for a major part of the four-year duration with students agitating against the controversial ‘year-out’ policy that was scrapped midway through the programme.
“Along with the withdrawal of the year-out system, the university had also decided to introduce a reform by which students could attempt supplementary examinations of odd semesters only during the subsequent odd semester and likewise in the case of even semesters,” says Kannan J.Y., who has been unable to apply for job openings through examinations conducted by the Kerala Public Service Commission and the Institute of Banking Personnel Selection as he is yet to clear a sixth-semester subject.
He added that their situation worsened after the 2018 floods had disrupted the academic calendar, prompting the university to draw out a crammed examination schedule. At times, students with arrears were faced with the predicament of selecting one among a regular examination and two supplementary ones, all of which were held on the same day.
Seeking to allay concerns, KTU authorities clarified that the cancellation applied for only those students whose teaching-learning process were hampered by the pandemic. A senior official said that they were toying with the idea of conducting the supplementary examinations in the conventional pen-and-paper format by September, if not earlier. Besides, the odd-even norm for supplementary examinations could also be exempted for once.
