Srinagar – Authorities at the Kashmir University assert that they have a proper mechanism for awarding gold medals, and give a vivid demonstration by informing students that they have been selected for the award one day and then withdrawing the honour the next.
Ask Irshaad Jan who topped the BCA course in 2010.
He is still wondering whether varsity officials have a clear idea of their rules at all, and how they could have forgotten the mechanism when playing what has turned out to be a cruel joke on him and his sensibilities.
In the run-up to the KUs prestigious 18th convocation which in all probability will be chaired by the President of India, Jan received a formal communication asking him to register for the event as he had been selected for a gold medal for his academic achievement.
I registered myself and concluded all formalities, Jan says. But the very next day I received intimation from the university that I would not be awarded the medal after all.
First I was put on the list of awardees, but then by name was mysteriously excluded, he says.
On inquiring, I was told that they have combined the BCA and the BSc IT for the collective evaluation of a single topper, he says.
But didnt they know of the rule before shooting off a letter to Jan?
To cap it all, according to Jan, the BCA course has an intake capacity of 700 students, with a separate entrance test, while it is merely 30 for the B Sc IT programme.
The student feels gravely wronged, for the two streams have separate entrance tests and separate annual evaluation.
But the Dean for Academic Affairs at the varsity sticks to his guns, but neither clears the air whether authorities were ignorant of rules previously, nor resolves the mystery whether the decision to combine the two streams was taken after informing Jan.
In our academic setup, the BCA and the B.Sc IT courses come under a single department, says he. One who tops among the students of both courses combined is the topper and therefore deserves the gold medal.
There is no separate gold medal for the Home Sciences topper, because he or she comes under the Science category, the Dean proffers as an example. That is why only the candidate topping the B.Sc course overall would be awarded.
The same is the case with BCA and B.Sc IT, he says.
We have a proper mechanism in the selection process for Gold Medals. Only toppers would be awarded on the function, he says.
Follow this link to join our WhatsApp group: Join Now
Be Part of Quality Journalism |
Quality journalism takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce and despite all the hardships we still do it. Our reporters and editors are working overtime in Kashmir and beyond to cover what you care about, break big stories, and expose injustices that can change lives. Today more people are reading Kashmir Observer than ever, but only a handful are paying while advertising revenues are falling fast. |
| ACT NOW |
| MONTHLY | Rs 100 |  |
| YEARLY | Rs 1000 | |
| LIFETIME | Rs 10000 | |
