Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has flagged norm violations in conducting revaluations by universities.
Mr. Khan, who held a hearing last month on a contentious decision of the A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) to conduct a second revaluation for a former student, observed, in the proceedings of the hearing which is out in public domain, that the university was at odds with its statutes as well as relevant court directives by entertaining revaluations in the absence of regulations that provided for the same.
The Governor, who is also the Chancellor of the university, has made clear his disapproval towards the university move and directed the authorities concerned to ensure that the course of action adopted in the particular case should not be treated as a precedent in the future. Irregularities in the conduct of examinations and publication of results were bound to have a negative effect on the goodwill and reputation of the university, he observed.
Despite the observations, the Chancellor felt it unnecessary to propose a decision that could potentially hamper the career of the student in question.
He noted that the petitioner in the case, the Save University Campaign Committee, was also not inclined to “unsettling the result of the student.”
‘Illegal act’
Mr. Khan also took a critical view of the manner in which the controversial adalat was organised.
He observed that the university committed an illegal act by constituting an adalat organising committee of 12 members, which included the private secretary and the additional private secretary of the Higher Education Minister.
After examining the KTU Act, the Governor pointed out that it did not contain any provision for the “constitution or creation of an authority like adalat with powers to advise, recommend or direct the university or its authorities or officers.”
Autonomous body
Citing a Supreme Court judgment (State of Punjab and Another vs. Sardari Lal and Others), the Governor noted that the university was an autonomous body and therefore, the State government was not entitled to interfere with its internal administration notwithstanding the fact that it was the funding body.
