Rejecting the case of the petitioner for continuance and to write the examination is unsustainable and is liable to be interfered with. source : Shutterstock
The Madras High Court has directed the Anna University and the director of technical education (DTE) to allow a student, who failed to attend classes for two years owing to an illness, to continue her studies in the third year of an engineering course and permit her to write the fifth semester exam that is to be held in January, 2022.
Justice M Dhandapani issued the direction following a writ petition by R Nithya seeking a direction to the university to approve her readmission and allow her to write the semester examination.
According to Nithya, Anna University allotted her a seat in the Electronics and Communication Engineering at a private college in Padur and she completed two years of the course there after recovering from her illness.
Nithya was diagnosed with allergic rhinitis, which prevented her from attending classes for two years – from April 2018 to mid-2020 – and the college issued a transfer certificate to her. She recovered from the ailment in 2020 and resumed studies in July 2021, her petitioner said.
According to details with the varsity, she paid the fifth semester fee of Rs 2,500 for six subjects and three practical exams which would be held in January. Regardless of her paying the exam fee, she did not get her registration number for it.
Recently she was told by the university officials to commence the course from the first year.
Coming to the rescue of the student, the judge referred to the Regulations of Anna University, particularly Regulation 5.1, which prescribes that students who have been enrolled to Bachelor of Engineering degree from the Higher Secondary stream are to complete the course within 14 semester period, which means that the students should complete the course within seven years.
According to this, the petitioner had discontinued her studies between April 2018 and mid-2020 for two years and thereafter joined the college for the fifth semester. From 2018 to the end of 2021, she attended classes for four semesters and missed four semesters.
She has two more years of study, which are four semesters, and if she is allowed to write the examination for these four semesters, she would be completing only 12 semesters.
As per the mandate of Regulation 5.1, students from the Higher Secondary stream ought to complete the course within 14 semesters. Even if the petitioner is permitted to write the examination at present, she would only be in the ninth semester in the overall 14 semesters and, therefore, she is well within the Regulation prescribed by the University.
Rejecting the case of the petitioner for continuance and to write the examination is wholly unsustainable and the same is liable to be interfered with, the court said. The judge directed the university and the college to allow her to write the fifth semester exam within a week.