Uncertainty looms over the future of undergraduate students at 108 non-autonomous government colleges affiliated to the University of Madras (UoM), as the varsity is yet to release its final semester results.
The delay has turned a major hurdle for students aspiring to apply to postgraduate (PG) courses as many aided and private autonomous colleges have completed admissions to PG courses and even started classes.
University of Madras professors told The New Indian Express that it might take between two weeks and a month for the results to be released. Of the 131 colleges affiliated to the University of Madras, the 23 autonomous colleges declared their results on time, in the last week of June.
At a disadvantage
"I had scored well and was hoping PG admissions in aided colleges would line up with government colleges. Now, I am left with no choice but to pursue my PG degree in my current college," a student from a non-autonomous government college said.
"It is an open secret that many aided and private autonomous colleges have already admitted students to PG courses and started classes. This leads to a lack of uniformity, putting students from other colleges at a disadvantage," said a member of the Association of University Teachers (AUT).
He explained that due to this asymmetry, government college students from rural areas are unaware of the admission process of autonomous colleges.
Explaining the point
For instance, he said, if a student from a non-autonomous government college wishes to join an aided autonomous institution known for its MSc Visual Communication course, it becomes difficult because the institution would have already closed PG admissions by the time the student's results are released and they begin applying.
Worse, many UoM departments allow provisional admissions to PG courses based on performance in the entrance test and undergraduate scores. However, at present, only the five semesters are taken into account for these students from non-autonomous government colleges. This is considered unfair to those who might have performed well in the sixth and final semester.
"Such provisional admissions cause unnecessary stress for the students until the results are released. This apart, government colleges that wait to admit students until results are announced — as was done last year when results came only in the third week of August — struggle to complete the whole 90 days of classes before semester exams usually held in November," said a UoM professor.
Meanwhile, academicians said the delay is caused by administrative problems, pointing to the varsity's vice-chancellor post lying vacant. They also urged the government to solve UoM's audit problems in a timely manner so that funds for the institution can be released.
"The convenor committee of the university includes the higher education secretary who has to ensure that student welfare is not affected by administrative issues," said C Sivakumar, former syndicate member of the Madras University and former president of the Government College Teachers' Association.
Officials from the University of Madras were unavailable for comments.
