Tension on Kakatiya varsity campus

Protests are orchestrated, feel senior professors

​Hanamkonda: Tension prevailed on Kakatiya University campus in Hanamkonda on Wednesday as student unions staged a dharna over slip-ups in the degree and M phil/Phd results announcement.

On the day, ABVP activists staged a dharna in front of the administration building while some of the KU JAC activists forced themselves into the university Vice-Chancellor’s chambers shouting slogans demanding justice to the affected students.

The protest by ABVP activists took aggressive shape as they tried to barge into the V-C chambers. As they were prevented by the police, the activists have broken windows and glass panes of the main entrance of the building.

During the melee, several students, police personnel and KU Campus police station inspector SM Ali suffered injuries. The injured students were shifted to local hospital for treatment. The police have dragged out those agitating inside the V-C’s chambers.

Students’ protests orchestrated?
Meanwhile, the university campus was abuzz over the alleged involvement of a non-teaching employee and a group of professors in instigating the students to resort to protests over the issue M Phil/Ph D and degree results.

According to sources, those behind the students’ protests have aspired for Registrar and Controller of Examination posts and put pressure on the V-C Prof R Sayanna. The V-C set aside the pressures and appointed Prof K Purushotham and Prof S Mahender Reddy respectively in the posts.

‘The marks memo having 105 marks for 100 marks and is being shown now in the media pertains to a supplementary exam held in September 2016. The student concerned obtained the memo in this March,’ sources said.

Questioning the logic and timing of the protests, a senior faculty on the condition of anonymity said ‘M Phil/Ph D results are released a fortnight ago and the degree memo four months ago. Why they have become issues now?’

Those disgruntled at not getting the appointments were triggering protests now to settle the scores with the V-C for not conceding to their pressures and to create unrest on the campus, he felt.

V-C’s clarification
The V-C, Prof R Sayanna, on the degree memo issue clarified that as part of moderation five marks would be added to each student during the tabulation. That was why the memo was issued with 105 marks for the student who scored cent percent marks.

He said objections on M Phil/Ph D entrance test key were invited. An expert committee would look into those objections and a final key would be released following by revised test results adding ‘Entire process would be transparent’

Prof Sayanna further said, in M Phil/PhD entrance questions were jumbled. During results processing original key used instead of jumbled key due to technical errors. As soon as the students complained about less marks immediate measures were launched to rectify the mistakes.

“There were no irregularities in giving results but only errors. The appointment of the registrar is made on the basis his credentials. There is no involvement of the registrar in this. The errors are purely technical,” the V-C asserted.