Date:18/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/18/stories/2008071861111100.htm

Tamil Nadu

Plea against varsity resolution dismissed

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has dismissed a petition seeking to declare a resolution of the Tiruvalluvar University syndicate, allowing DVC College of Education, Srimushnam, and seven other colleges to start B.Ed./M.Ed courses and additional intake for the B.Ed course illegal.

Petitioner I. Elangovan had also sought a consequent direction to the university to grant affiliation for these programmes only from academic year 2008-09. He said the application for affiliation from colleges was processed only in November 2007 (.i.e.) long after the cut-off date of August 1 fixed by the High Court. The affiliation granted for 2007-08 was illegal.

In his order, Justice S. Nagamuthu said since the affiliating authority had found that the students would earn the required attendance and that it was viable to conduct the course during 2007-08 itself, there was nothing wrong in the university granting affiliation for that year. It was perfectly in tune with a judgment of the Full Bench, the Tiruvalluvar University Act, Madras University statute and the NCTE Act and their regulations.The Judge observed that it had been time and again held by both the High Court and Supreme Court that colleges should not admit students unless affiliation was granted, and that the attendance earned by students in any institution before affiliation should not be counted for allowing them to take examinations.

In this case, it was deplorable that the DVC College of Education had admitted students without waiting for affiliation from Tiruvalluvar University. But, the students were not affected because the attendance they would earn after affiliation was sufficient to appear for the examinations, he said. Otherwise, their future would have been doomed.

In a similar situation, the court had directed some colleges, which admitted students even without waiting for affiliation, to pay compensation to students. In this case, since the future of students was not, in any way, affected, the Judge said he was not inclined to order compensation. “I hope in future the colleges will adhere to the rules and regulations,” Justice Mr. Nagamuthu said.