At Arni University, score 65% to get first division in BTech

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, June 25

In a sudden move, Arni University (a private university) has made singular exclusion by raising the minimum marks for securing the first division from 60 to 65 per cent for BTech, while the percentage has been kept at 60 per cent for all other courses, including the technical ones.

The decision has adversely affected the career of students who passed out from the university as they are ineligible for jobs where first division is the minimum requirement and students from other universities with 60 per cent marks are eligible as the general norm for first division is 60 per cent.

The students are up in arms and are demanding “correction”. They have also moved the Himachal Pradesh Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Commission (HPPEIRC) for justice and parity with other universities. The minimum marks for first division in MTech, BSc, MBA, MSc and diploma courses are 60 per cent and the exception has been made only in the case of BTech.

“When the students of diploma in technical courses, MTech and BTech are using the same laboratories, taught by the same faculty and following the same examination pattern, why is the yardstick different for us?” asked Sanjeev Gautam, who passed BTech in 2013 from Arni University and got second division despite securing 62.30 per cent.

As per the UGC and All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) norms, the minimum marks for the first division are 60 per cent unless otherwise declared. However, in the case of these students, it is clearly written in the marksheet that students getting marks between 65 and 75 per cent have been placed in the first division.

“I am not eligible to apply for the post of assistant and associate professor in the department of technical education, recruitment of which is made through the Himachal Pradesh Public Service Commission, as the essential qualification is first division,” said another student of 2013 BTech batch, who secured 64.79 per cent.

Registrar of the university SS Guleria passed the buck to Controller of Examination Ashish Kumar, who maintained that 65 per cent for first division was mentioned in the rules and regulations, but there was no specific logic or reason behind the move and only the then Vice-Chancellor (2013) could give the explanation.

Chairman of the HPPEIRC KK Katoch acknowledged that he had received the representation in this regard, saying the university had been directed to review the decision in the academic council in accordance with the system prevailing in the universities across the country.