Education, Careers & Professional News
Students Give Ultimatum To MzU
The state`s apex students body Mizo Zirlai Pawl has given an ultimatum to the Mizoram University to amend its decision regarding unsuccessful students of 1st year BA within July 26, 2005.
Criticising the decision made by the Standing Committee of the University`s Academic Council where students failing in the first year of degree course were allowed to join the second year, but barred from sitting in the examinations for the second year, the MZP said this was discrimination to the weaker section of students.
This student organisation pointed out that it was not fair to allow students to sit in a class while barring them from undergoing examination.
The decision made by the University`s Academic Council is totally meaningless as it is of no benefit to the students, P.C. Laltlansanga, general secretary of MZP said when contacted.
On 28th June this year, the Mizoram College Teachers Association had submitted a request for unsuccessful students to sit in the next higher class and undertake examinations both for the higher class as well as for the subjects they failed in in the previous class. However, the Academic Council, reviewing the matter, while allowing unsuccessful students to sit in the next higher class, had barred them from taking examinations for that class.
According to Laltlansanga, it was the prerogative and purview of the Council whether or not these students could sit for examinations of two classes.
Margaret Ch. Zama, registrar of the MzU, however, disagreed and said it was the rules for students to repeat the whole course for any year that they fail in.
It is normal procedure that students sit again through any year that they fail to come through. We were requested to let unsuccessful students sit in the next higher class and we had obliged to this. However, we cannot go against the rules and let these students sit for an examination in the higher class without first passing the lower one, she said.
Laltlansanga, however, said this was a rule framed by the Academic Council of the University and this same body can amend the rules it had made.
He added that as a new syllabus had been introduced this year, unsuccessful students are needed to be given a chance to get their degree in a course that they are already familiar with.
It appears that the Academic Council had decided to send up en masse all failed students of 1st year BA without giving a chance to those who had failed in only two or three subjects. Under usual university practice in other parts of the country, students who fail in two or three subjects, or even students who fail in all subjects, are allowed to sit in the next higher class but on the condition that the student passes his backlog of examinations before going for - or with - the exams of that next higher class.
We fail to see the logic behind the Academic Council`s decision to send up unsuccessful students while barring them from appearing in the examination of the class where they have been sent up, Laltlansanga said.