Hyderabad: First year and second year engineering students are demanding that the JNTU-H hold advanced supplementary exams to help them avoid detention due to lack of credits. Students must secure a minimum of 24 credits out of 48 in order to be promoted to the second year.
They alleged that about 10,000 students were detained this year due to the credit-based detention system. In 2017, another 10,000 students were detained for not securing enough credits in the first year.
BE I student Sai Teja of Gurunanak Engineering College said he had failed in seven subjects two semesters due to which he scored 23 credits. “As fell short of one credit, the university will detain me for a year. I can’t afford to lose a year just because the detention system,” he said.
A. Showmik, another BE I student, also faces the prospect of being detained for a year for falling short of one credit. “The university should conduct advance supplementary exam and give us chance to clear the backlogs,” he said. The university conducted supplementary exams for the first semester but not the advanced supplementary exam.
Mr Goutham Rao, president, Telangana Engineering College Association, pointed out that advanced supplementary exams were conducted last year.
Experts said the advanced supplementary should be limited to the final year. Dr Srini Bhupalam, an education expert, said, “Detention due to insufficient credits is of a student’s own making. If a student could not pass after five months of classwork and study time, expecting a different outcome in the advance supplementary is not realistic’’.
Prof. G.V.K. Reddy, an educationist, said JNTUH may not conduct the exams as it could lead to lowering of standards. “JNTUH normally conducts advanced supplementary exams for VIII semester. I believe the varsity has put in place better evaluation procedures.”
JNTU-H registrar Prof. Yadaiah Yadav said,“We can’t conduct a strong building with a weak base. If we conduct the advance supplementary exam, students will not learn properly.” He said the university felt that it was better that students learn better in the college instead of being unemployed later by somehow passing the examination.
H3
