The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has stated that the government of Tamil Nadu’s order to promote students with arrears, without them having to write the exams, is against its guidelines. The council’s response was in response to former Anna University Vice Chancellor E Balagurusamy’s petition in the Madras High Court. The Secretary of Southern region of AICTE filed its response in an affidavit to the court on Wednesday, which effectively said that the government of Tamil Nadu’s announcement exempting students who have paid fees for writing arrear exams from actually writing the exams, is against its guidelines.
“As per the Government Order (GO), all the students who have paid their fees for arrear examinations are declared to be passed. (This) is totally against the guidelines and which cannot be made. Further, several students who have arrears are being sought to be promoted to the next year without appearing for the examinations,” the AICTE said.
“The entire GO, declaring the students of graduation and post graduation studies in arts and also in technical education, except final year students, is without any basis and is not as per the guidelines of the UGC (University Grants Commission) which were endorsed by AICTE,” the affidavit added.
The Madras High Court had on September 16 served notices to the Union and state governments, UGC and the AICTE on Balagurusamy’s petition against the cancellation of arrear exams in the state. In his petition, the former Vice Chancellor had stated that the order passed by the state government was “illegal, arbitrary, discriminatory and against the principal (sic) of natural justice”.
Adding that the announcement demoralised the students who had worked hard to pass their exams, he said that this particular government order would end up lowering the standard of education and the university.
“The performance in examination gives confidence and satisfaction to the students and is a reflection of competence, performance and credibility that is necessary for global acceptability,” the petition said. He added that state governments do not have the right to interfere in the academic matters of universities and issue universal declarations of passing the students.