Taking his allegations against Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel’s involvement in gifting marks in Mahatma Gandhi University to the next level, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala knocked on Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s doors, seeking a comprehensive and independent probe into the Minister’s role, besides annulment of the controversial Syndicate decision facilitating it.
Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday after meeting the Governor with his petition, Mr. Chennithala said he had urged Mr. Khan to exercise his powers as Chancellor to intervene in the matter urgently and save the university system for being discredited.
He said the marks gifted to failed B.Tech. students were illegal and arbitrary. Mr. Jaleel did not have any power to interfere in the affairs of the varsity, particularly examinations, going by Section 8 of the Mahatma Gandhi University Act, 1985.
The Minister’s private secretary too did not have any authority to attend the controversial adalat and sign the minutes. The Minister had inaugurate the adalat via video conferencing, and deputed his private secretary to attend it. The private secretary’s participation in a university meeting where the Minister himself lacked any power was a blatant violation of law, Mr. Chennithala said in his petition to the Governor.
Later at the press conference, Mr. Chennithala said it was clear that there was a conspiracy involving the Minister, his private secretary Sherrifuddin and varsity officials to gift marks to the student, Anuja Mohanakurup, who happened to be Mr. Sherrifuddin’s neighbour.
The controversy over an earlier mark gifting case in the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) at the instance of the Minister was yet to die down. The media had come out with fresh expose about mark gifting to students of B.Sc. Nursing. Under the circumstances, marking gifting had escalated to a major scam, he said.
