‘Colleges should refund fees, issue TCs to students moving to other institutions’

Colleges should refund tuition fees and issue transfer certificates to students looking to move to other institutions, Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudy said.

“This is admission season. Many students complain that they are unable to move to a college of their choice as colleges refuse to issue TCs. This is especially so for candidates moving from engineering to medical colleges. We have given instructions to Vice-Chancellors, and we believe this would help poor students in particular,” the Minister said.

From the next academic year, all universities will release the results of the final semester on the same day. The Education Department will issue the application forms for all PG courses available in various State universities, he said. The changes will ease the process of applying for higher degree programmes across universities, he added.

From the current academic year, students will learn language courses for four semesters. “Candidates who choose Tamil will learn about the pre- and post-colonial history of Tamil literature in the first two semesters. Students will learn Tamil history and culture, and about the growth of Tamil and science, in the 3^rd and 4^th semesters, respectively,” the Minister said.

Universities had been instructed to follow a uniform syllabus. They may modify 25% of the coursework to suit their region, he said.