A student whose conduct certificate pronounced him as ‘satisfactory’ was apparently the reason for a college in Kerala to deny him admission.
The authorities of the C Achutha Menon Govt. College at Kuttanellur in Thrissur denied admission to Goutham S who had applied for BA English Language and Literature.
Gowtham had also earlier taken part in the agitation triggered by the suicide of Rohith Vemula of the Hyderabad Central University (HCU).
The principal of the college Elsamma Joseph Arackal was not convinced by the certificate presented by him which mentioned his conduct as satisfactory, according to Gowtham.
“There was no reason to deny admission to me. When we sought admission on June 16, she hesitated saying that the remark on my conduct certificate was satisfactory. When we approached her the second time on Friday, she even ridiculed me in front of my mother. She said my behaviour was not good and this hurt my self-esteem. We were asked to sit in her room, when we did she told us that we were asked not to sit inside but outside,” Gowtham told The News Minute.
He says that he quit the HCU after completing three years. “During that time, four students who were my acquaintances had committed suicide. It was not possible for me to continue in that atmosphere. After going to the Kuttanellur College, twice I felt a prejudiced and unfriendly attitude,” he says.
Gowtham was first in the list for admission under the single window allotment system of the Calicut University.
The principal, he alleges, sought an explanation on the remark ‘satisfactory’.
“Asking an explanation seemed weird for us. Why someone would need a further explanation on the word satisfactory, it was not bad but satisfactory. The head of the department of English and the administrative staff had cleared his certificates. Only the principal objected. She told us that the remark satisfactory implied that his conduct was unsatisfactory,” says Yamini, Gowtham’s mother.
Gowtham then approached the HCU for clarification.
“We were told that it didn’t need an explanation. Also in the certificate given by the University, it was clearly said that there is no objection for him to seek admission in any other university. The decision to discontinue the course was ours, not that the university asked him to do so. When he had to witness those agitations at Hyderabad University, we had also decided that he needs a change. When he was treated badly by the principal, he was telling me that I am not a bad person,” his mother says.
Yamini is a teacher at Polytechnic Institute in Malappuram. “Three of the students in my institute are from a juvenile home. An educational institution should be friendly towards students,” she adds.
Gowtham has now approached the Director of Admissions, Calicut University, requesting to get admission in any other college.
However the principal says that the college did not deny him admission. “We have given him time till June 26 to join. I have never seen a conduct certificate with the satisfactory remark, but with good and above. It was his behaviour towards me which was rude in front of the teachers and staff. He himself said that he did not need admission. There is something mysterious in his attitude. I believe that he wants to get publicity out of all this,” the principal Elsamma claims.