Kasaragod: At the eighth convocation ceremony of the Central University of Kerala (CUK) on Saturday, first-rank holders from 26 of its 27 departments were honoured. However, the Department of English and Comparative Literature (DECL) withheld its rank list for the 2022-2024 batch following a High Court interim order in a case where faculty members allegedly misused internal marks to target a promising student.

Controller of Examinations Dr Jayaprakash R confirmed to Onmanorama that the rank-holder of the DECL has been withheld because of the court's intervention on March 7.

According to a writ petition filed by Nayanthara Thilak of the 2022-2024 batch, Prof Joseph Koyipally, the Dean of Comparative Literature, and Dr Asha S, the head of DECL, awarded her the lowest internal mark in the class after they allegedly failed to stop her from attending a prestigious 6-week programme at Cornell University in New York last year.

Thilak, a class topper in the first three semesters, was given only 49 out of 60 internal marks in 'English Language and Linguistics', a course handled by the two faculty members, saying that her participation in classroom discussions was not on par with the rest.

Thilak, a native of Kozhikode, has been an English elocution champion since her school days, repeatedly winning at School Kalolsavam. When Cornell University informed her about her selection for the programme in March last year, she was in Ludhiana for the Interuniversity National Youth Festival. She won the first prize in the English elocution competition at the national event, a first for the CUK.

"The idea that Nayanthara would stay silent or underperform in class discussions is absurd," said her guardian. The 49 marks she got was equal to the student who was on maternity leave for several months, she wrote in her complaint to the Ministry of Education. "This itself is sufficient to expose the biased attitude of the examiners who evaluated me," she wrote in her mail.

'Harassed for going to Cornell'
Thilak was the only postgraduate in her batch to be selected for  Cornell University's summer programme; the rest were PhD scholars and faculty members. But since the programme possibly clashed with her end-semester exam, she was in a dilemma.  

From Ludhiana, Thilak informed Dr Asha about the dates. Asha told Nayanthara not to worry about  the exam dates and the department will do whatever is possible.

As advised by Asha, Thilak wrote to the Controller of Examinations via the HoD to request rescheduling of her final exam.

The Controller of Examinations wrote to the HoD that Thilak's "request was considered favourably" and the exams were rescheduled to July 2024.

But when she spoke with Prof Koyipally, he allegedly told her that “for one student and for such reasons” the university cannot reschedule exams. Nevertheless, with the letter of assurance from the Controller of Examinations, she left for the US.

On June 7, the day she reached Cornell University, the Dr Asha, WhatsApped her: "There is a small technical problem. We will have to consider your examination as an additional examination. Otherwise, the results of all the others will be delayed."

The HoD's message devastated her and she considered returning to the university. "Additional examination/ repeat examination is conducted for failed students and I was not among the failed," she wrote.

However, after assurances from the university, she decided to continue with the summer programme. But when she was in the US, she came to know that she was awarded only 49 marks for 'English Language and Linguistics', conducted by Prof Koyipally and Dr Asha. "It was the lowest marks I have ever received for internals in any subject of the department," she said. She was among the best-performing students in the class with A+ Grades in all the previous examinations.

She emailed the faculty, requesting a reassessment of her marks. When there was no response, she wrote to the Student Grievance Redressal Committee (SGRC).

But she learned that a month later, the university reconstituted the SGRC and included Prof Koyipally in the six-member committee.

According to her legal team, the committee never took up her complaint, forcing her to approach the High Court.

The writ petition alleges that her internal marks were deliberately manipulated to prevent her from securing the top rank. The HC has sent notices to the two faculty members.

Thilak pleaded to direct the university to resolve her complaint, but only after replacing Prof Koyipally from the panel. She also sought to reassess her internal marks without involving Prof Koyipally and Dr Asha.

On Friday, the HC ruled that the rank would be subject to the final disposal of the petition. Given this, the university chose to withhold the rank list until Thilak's complaint was resolved.