From marital status to parents’ income: Kannur University’s first-sem exam form triggers row

Kannur: Marital status, caste, parents’ names and income, their phone numbers, and even the landmark of students’ homes — the list of details sought from first-semester undergraduate students of Kannur University for exam registration has raised serious concern among teachers and senate members.

The data are being collected through K-REAP, an end-to-end academic management system run by Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Limited (MKCL) — a third-party IT firm that has earlier faced action and complaints from universities in Maharashtra over irregularities and delays.

What makes it worse is that university officials themselves were unaware that such personal data was being sought. “Information such as marital status is not necessary, and students need not provide it,” said Vice-Chancellor Prof Saju K K. “I have asked the Controller of Examinations to look into it, and it will be resolved soon,” he said.

However, teachers said that with the November 10 deadline approaching, about 90% of colleges have already submitted the forms, leaving little room for corrective action. “We were surprised that the university did not even know these details were being asked. Also, the V-C should know that the form cannot be submitted unless every field is filled,” said associate professor Shino P Jose, member of Kannur University Senate and convenor of the Senators’ Forum.

Earlier, the Kerala Private College Teachers’ Association (KPCTA) had objected to handing over student data to MKCL, questioning its integrity and transparency. “Looking at the kind of personal information now being sought for writing an exam, our fears seem to be coming true,” Dr Jose said.

He pointed out that when Kannur University handled exam registration directly, students were required to enter only their registration number, Aadhaar, the papers they were appearing for, and whether they were eligible for e-grants to waive exam fees. “Now the agency is asking for unnecessary personal details that have nothing to do with examinations,” he said.

Prof. Saju said MKCL might have included these questions as part of its ‘end-to-end’ data management system, which handles student records from admission to degree issuance. “Even then, marital status is not required. I will inquire why such data is being sought,” he said, and added that the agency could ask for data only that the university required.

Teachers, however, disagreed with that explanation. They said the university had collected all necessary details during admission, uploaded them to its portal, and then integrated the data with K-REAP (Kerala Resources for Education Administration and Planning). “So there is no reason for the agency to ask for these again,” Dr Jose said.

To be sure, no other university in Kerala has implemented K-REAP, after concerns were raised about data sharing with external agencies. “Only Kannur University has been using its services for the past two years to manage admissions, examinations, and degree certificates,” he said.

Dr Jose also said that neither the university, the Higher Education Department, nor the Directorate of Collegiate Education has signed any memorandum of understanding with MKCL, which is collecting the data. 

The Vice-Chancellor said that the government had appointed the Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) Kerala to implement the end-to-end solution, and ASAP had in turn contracted MKCL. “This layered arrangement raises questions about the university’s autonomy and accountability, as the university itself is unaware of what information is being sought from students,” said Dr Jose, who shot off a letter to the V-C on the matter on Friday. 

Teachers also objected to the MKCL assigning Heads of Departments the responsibility of verifying the accuracy of the data. “As HoD, I was asked to verify information such as parents’ income and home address landmarks — details we have no means of independently confirming,” said Dr Jose. “Many of us had to leave classes unattended for two days to complete this verification work. If teachers are later held responsible for the authenticity of these entries, that would be completely unfair.”