Results for MEd students at the Tamil Nadu Teacher Education University (TNTEU) have been withheld due to the students' failure to complete the non-scholastic SWAYAM course. According to a student named K Geethanjali (name changed) from Sulur, the course was offered at their private college in the 2020-2021 academic year and was presented as optional rather than mandatory. "I thought it was optional and skipped it," Geethanjali told The New Indian Express.
Geethanjali, whose result has been withheld by the University due to her incomplete SWAYAM course, expressed concern about being unable to apply for a teaching job or take the exam for the position of district education officer. K Deepika, a student at a government college, told The New Indian Express that she enrolled in the SWAYAM portal and chose the two-month "Teaching Methodology" course, but will have to wait until March for her result, even though she will have completed the course in February.
According to R Pradeep, an assistant professor at a private college, the varsity made it mandatory in 2021 for MEd students to complete two SWAYAM courses. However, some students were unprepared or did not consider the course to be relevant to their ranking. As a result, TNTEU released the results of students who completed the course in October, but withheld the results of 2,000 out of 6,000 students who did not complete the course.
According to sources, TNTEU has also made SWAYAM courses mandatory for BEd students in the current academic year, requiring them to complete one course by the third semester. The Tamil Nadu Government Collegiate Teachers Association's state president, T Veeramani, has expressed suspicion that the goal of the course may be to phase out offline classes, noting that the University Grants Commission has stated that the course is not compulsory.
K Leninbarathi, Education Development Committee coordinator, told The New Indian Express that marks from the SWAYAM course are not included in students' ranking systems, leading to the question of why universities are requiring students to complete the course.
When contacted, the controller of examination (in charge) at TNTEU, P Ganeshan, stated that students must complete the SWAYAM course. Ganeshan added that the results of students who are currently enrolled in the SWAYAM course will be released within a month. The higher education department secretary, D Karthikeyan, did not respond to The New Indian Express' requests for comment.
