Educational authorities have been strongly urged to scrutinize admissions to students whose credit points fall below the minimum requirement
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This action comes in response to violation of UGC guidelines, which clearly stipulates the requirement a minimum of 24 credit points for admission into PG courses
The Odisha Higher Education Department has issued an official directive to the chairman of state public universities and principals of degree colleges to conduct an investigation into the admission of students in postgraduate (PG) courses who possess credit points below the prescribed minimum of 24. This action comes in response to apparent violations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, which clearly stipulate the requirement of a minimum of 24 credit points for admission into PG courses.
The higher education department underscored the importance of adhering to the UGC’s Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS) guidelines, which were designed to ensure academic quality and consistency. Educational authorities have been strongly urged to scrutinize admissions awarded to students whose credit points in elective papers fall below the minimum requirement of 24. Rajata Kumar Mansingh, Deputy Director of the department, conveyed in a formal letter, “If any such cases are identified, you are requested to inform the department for further course of action immediately.”
Certain students have been admitted to PG courses despite holding less than the stipulated 24 credit points in their elective papers at the graduation level. This flagrant violation of the guidelines provided in the common prospectus for the academic session 2023-24 has raised concerns about the admission process and its compliance with UGC norms.
According to Times of India report, this issue came to the forefront on October 1, regarding a specific incident at the prestigious BJB College. The college had initially admitted a student into the geography subject for PG studies, even though the student had accumulated a mere 12 credit points in that particular subject during their undergraduate studies. It was only after recognizing this error that the college decided to cancel the student’s admission.
Ankit Majhi, a physically challenged individual from Balasore district, expressed his concerns by staging a dharna (protest) in front of BJB College on September 30. He demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the irregularities related to PG admissions at the college. He alleged that his admission had been revoked eight days after he was admitted to the geography program. He secured his admission to BJB College on July 31, ranking second in the common PG entrance test (CPET) for geography within the persons with disabilities (PwD) quota. However, on August 12, a college official informed him about the admission cancellation. He has now demanded action to be taken against the officials responsible for granting him admission on July 31.