HC allows 5,000 engineering students with backlogs to appear for viva as interim relief
In what comes as relief to around 5,000 engineering students across the state with backlogs, the Bombay High Court on Monday allowed the students to appear for their viva and practical examinations as interim relief.
The students, however, will have to sign an undertaking to not claim any equity in the case based on this permission and will have to abide by the final verdict of the judges.
The division bench comprising Justice N H Patil and Justice A P Bhangale will hear the case on November 13, so that it could be decided whether the students be allowed to appear for the written exams.
Representing more than 1,000 students, two from AC Patil College of Engineering had submitted a writ petition in the Bombay High Court on October 10 appealing to the university to waive off the rule of not allowing students to be admitted in the final year even if they have ATKTs (Allowed to Keep Term) in certain subjects.
According to the university norms, only students who have no unclear ATKT in any of their first four semesters and who have not more than five ATKTs in the fifth and sixth semester together, are allowed to appear for the seventh and eighth semester.
The court allowed the students to appear for viva voce after a 2009 circular from Mumbai University was pointed out to the court. In this circular, the university had relaxed ATKT rules for students seeking admission to last year of the four-year course.
The university, represented by Advocate Rui Rodrigues, however, is against giving any relaxation to the students. He has even filed an affidavit in the court stating that the 2009 circular was a mistake and it should not be repeated. Advocate Nitin Gangal, appearing for the students, objected to this submission by Rodrigues. He even proposed to the court to let the students clear all their ATKTs in November.
“The students who manage to clear their ATKTs in November should be allowed to appear for the seventh and eighth terms together in May next year. Otherwise they will have to face the new syllabus as May 2015 will see the last examination under the old syllabus” he said. According to Gangal, these students will be at a disadvantage if they are made to appear for the new syllabus. He submitted that the old course students have been appearing for a full 100 mark papers, whereas the batches under the new syllabus have 20 marks allotted to internally-assessed practical examinations every term.
Moreover, the new syllabus students will have a grading system unlike earlier leading to disadvantage for this lot as they haven’t had the chance of appearing in the practical examination.
MA Khan, registrar of the University, stated, “We will abide by the court’s decision but we cannot bypass the ordinance since the university doesn’t have the authority to change it. There is a process where the academic council as well the board of examination and the governor take that decision.”
The students, however, will have to sign an undertaking to not claim any equity in the case based on this permission and will have to abide by the final verdict of the judges.
The division bench comprising Justice N H Patil and Justice A P Bhangale will hear the case on November 13, so that it could be decided whether the students be allowed to appear for the written exams.
The viva and practical exams have started on Monday and the students will be allowed to make up for the missed viva exams with the next batch of students from Tuesday. “I am happy and relieved with the decision. We have already taken provisional admission in the colleges. We will go to our colleges and inquire about the viva on Tuesday,” said a student of electronics and telecommunication engineering from Lilavati Awadh College.
Representing more than 1,000 students, two from AC Patil College of Engineering had submitted a writ petition in the Bombay High Court on October 10 appealing to the university to waive off the rule of not allowing students to be admitted in the final year even if they have ATKTs (Allowed to Keep Term) in certain subjects.
According to the university norms, only students who have no unclear ATKT in any of their first four semesters and who have not more than five ATKTs in the fifth and sixth semester together, are allowed to appear for the seventh and eighth semester.
The court allowed the students to appear for viva voce after a 2009 circular from Mumbai University was pointed out to the court. In this circular, the university had relaxed ATKT rules for students seeking admission to last year of the four-year course.
The university, represented by Advocate Rui Rodrigues, however, is against giving any relaxation to the students. He has even filed an affidavit in the court stating that the 2009 circular was a mistake and it should not be repeated. Advocate Nitin Gangal, appearing for the students, objected to this submission by Rodrigues. He even proposed to the court to let the students clear all their ATKTs in November.
“The students who manage to clear their ATKTs in November should be allowed to appear for the seventh and eighth terms together in May next year. Otherwise they will have to face the new syllabus as May 2015 will see the last examination under the old syllabus” he said. According to Gangal, these students will be at a disadvantage if they are made to appear for the new syllabus. He submitted that the old course students have been appearing for a full 100 mark papers, whereas the batches under the new syllabus have 20 marks allotted to internally-assessed practical examinations every term.
Moreover, the new syllabus students will have a grading system unlike earlier leading to disadvantage for this lot as they haven’t had the chance of appearing in the practical examination.
MA Khan, registrar of the University, stated, “We will abide by the court’s decision but we cannot bypass the ordinance since the university doesn’t have the authority to change it. There is a process where the academic council as well the board of examination and the governor take that decision.”
