"Marks gifting" move by Calicut University sparks row

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A move by Calicut University in Kerala to enhance the moderation mark up to 20 for final year engineering students who fail in one paper has sparked a row with the pro-Left student outfits dubbing it as another instance of "mismanagement" of higer education.


According to sources, the controversial order issued by the standing committee of the university syndicate suggested up to 20 marks could be given to those final year BTech students in case they scored less than the pass mark in only one of the papers they attempted.


Reacting to reports in this regard, left student outfits contended this would mean that a student who had just scored 20 out of 100 marks could get through the examination securing 40 marks through moderation.


The "mark gifting" controversy has surfaced close on the heels of the Kerala High Court expressing concern over the standard of enginineering courses in self-financing colleges.


The CPI-M led LDF Opposition on Friday staged a walk out in the state assembly accusing the UDF Government of taking the high court order lightly.


Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Education Minister P K Abdu Rabb, however, assured the House that government would adhere to the court directions and take steps to ensure that infrastructure and faculty in private professional colleges were of high-quality.