Kerala witnesses sharp drop in students enrolling for graduation courses

college student.
A casual enquiry reveals that the situation is the same in Mahatma Gandhi, Calicut, and Kannur universities. Photo: Representational Image/ IANS

Thiruvananthapuram: There has been a sharp drop in the number of students enrolling for graduation courses in Kerala University which has been granted the A-Plus grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).

A casual enquiry reveals that the situation is the same in Mahatma Gandhi, Calicut, and Kannur universities.

Under Kerala University, 192 seats are remaining vacant in 14 government colleges while there were no takers for 2,446 seats in 39 aided colleges. Over 50% of the seats are vacant in 34 Institutes of Technology which are run directly by the university and 60 self-financing colleges.

Likely reasons

In earlier years, all the seats would be filled when three allotments and one round of spot admissions were completed. Now, seats remain vacant even after four admissions and two spot admissions.

Students who score high marks in the qualifying examinations prefer to enroll in other States and countries for their professional and graduate courses. Students who score low marks do not show interest in joining Science subjects. In most aided colleges, more seats remain vacant in the subjects of Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and English. Students are also not keen on joining the new-eneration courses introduced by the government.

One of the reasons for the phenomenon is the apprehension among the students over lack of job prospects and the policy of appointing teachers on a contract basis.

The report submitted by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in the Legislative Assembly had pointed out this fact. A significant number of seats in self-financing colleges remain vacant since many students are unable to bear the high fees in such institutions and depend on parallel systems for their studies.

The students are also persuaded not to enroll in State’s universities due to concerns over non-revision of the syllabus, delay in the declaration of results and loss of academic days in colleges. In addition, the controversies dogging the higher education sector also act as a dampener for the students.

The Save University Campaign Committee has submitted memoranda to the Governor, Chief Minister, and the Minister for Higher Education, demanding measures to rectify the situation.

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