Southern States - Kerala-Thiruvananthapuram   

Admission row: Principal petitions Chief Minister

By J. Ajeth Kumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Nov. 24. The head of a professional college under the State Government has sought the intervention of the Chief Minister as he has "come under pressure" from higher-ups to admit a student in violation of the statutes of the university to which the college is affiliated.

As per a complaint submitted today to the Chief Minister, A. K. Antony, by M. Mahadevan, the Principal of the Government Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Kottayam, he had been threatened with dire consequences if he refused to admit a student who had been facing serious disciplinary charges in another college.

The student, Nabeel A., while doing his seventh semester engineering course in the M.A. College of Engineering, Kothamangalam, had along with six others, been found involved in a criminal case. The charge levelled against the seven students was that all of them, in an effort to get the sessional examination postponed, put the carcass of a dog in the well in the college compound which was the source of drinking water for the inmates of the hostel as well as for the college canteen.

Following this incident in November 2001, a domestic inquiry was conducted by the authorities of the M.A. College of Engineering. The Commission of Inquiry, in February 2002, found that all the seven were guilty of the charge levelled against them and accordingly they were placed under suspension for varying terms.

In Nabeel's case, the period of suspension was two years from February 2002. However, in the meantime, he approached the Kerala High Court and the petition filed by him had named the Principal of the Government Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology (RIT) as the third respondent.

The High Court, on October 23, 2003, directed the first respondent, who was the Assistant Professor in charge of the Principal, M.A. College of Engineering, Kothamangalam, to issue transfer certificate and conduct certificate to the petitioner.

The third respondent has been directed to admit the petitioner in the eighth semester Mechanical Engineering class in the RIT. The court has not set any time frame for admission, it has been pointed out by the complainant.

In his submission to the Chief Minister, Mr.Mahadevan said the statutes of the Mahatma Gandhi University, to which both the colleges in question were affiliated, did not permit inter-collegiate transfer of students in the eighth semester.

According to the statutes of the MG University, "candidates who have completed the first and second semester courses and appeared for the examination and are eligible for promotion to the third semester shall only be eligible for transfer.''

Meanwhile, the staff council as well as the PTA of the RIT, Kottayam, have warned of an agitation if the student found guilty of a criminal charge was admitted to the college, as "that would set a very bad precedent'' and have a direct bearing on the discipline in the college.

They have also questioned the propriety of admitting to a Government college, a student against whom disciplinary action had been initiated by the authorities of a private college.

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