Students left in the lurch as Kerala’s new-age courses remain unapproved
Administrative tussles that rage on at several State-run universities threaten to derail the proposed introduction of innovative, new-generation courses in Kerala. Announced by the previous
Administrative tussles that rage on at several State-run universities threaten to derail the proposed introduction of innovative, new-generation courses in Kerala. Announced by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government during its final months in office, the modern academic programmes were designed to inject a contemporary, job-oriented curriculum into the higher education sector. However, the move has hit a major roadblock as they are yet to receive the statutory approval from the respective university Syndicates. It was earlier announced that the new courses would be introduced in each of the State’s 69 government colleges and 191 aided colleges. In total, around 520 new undergraduate and postgraduate programmes were expected to be introduced.
Some of the proposed programmes include highly sought-after multi-disciplinary streams such as BSc Forensic Science and Criminology, BSc Data Science and Logistics, BA Econometrics and Data Management, BSc Artificial Intelligence and BA Airline, Tourism and Hospitality Management. With the centralised allotment process for the current academic year already underway, college managements are concerned that the delay in approving the courses and additional seats could severely affect their admission prospects. They fear that the system could fail to attract top-tier students, who might eventually opt for institutions outside Kerala for such promising courses. A college administrator, requesting anonymity, said the deadlock has left institutions with no choice but to proceed with their standard seat allotments by completely excluding the newly allotment courses.
Notably, numerous aspirants had opted for the new-generation courses are their first choices in the online allotment options. However, owing to the lack of clarity and delay in university approvals, many institutions have decided to remove the courses from their lists of available options for the academic year. Non-uniformity At Kerala University, Vice-Chancellor in-charge Mohanan Kunnummal alleges non-uniformity in the allotment of courses and claims to have received several complaints regarding the process. Many well-deserving government colleges were purportedly ignored in the process, he said. Given the change of guard in the State, the Vice-Chancellor pointed out that any further decision on proceeding with the courses will be made only with the concurrence of the newly-formed United Democratic Front (UDF) government.
However, the stance has drawn backlash from the Left-backed Syndicate members, who accused the Vice-Chancellor of failing to convene mandatory Syndicate meetings in accordance with the university regulations. They pointed out that the last official Syndicate meeting was held on March 24, and that no subsequent meeting has been called despite a statutory requirement to convene one within 60 days. The “deliberate” failure to hold regular meetings has choked vital academic and administrative activities, including the introduction of new courses, they maintained.
The BriefWire