‘Dalit student denied admission to Ph.D programme’

A Syndicate member of the University of Calicut has approached Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, also the Chancellor, against the alleged denial of admission to a Dalit student to the Ph.D programme in the Department of Life Sciences.

In his mail to Mr. Khan, P. Rasheed Ahammed, the United Democratic Front-backed Syndicate member, claimed that K.P. Lijith Chandran had secured second rank in the Ph.D entrance test conducted by the university in 2020. The rank list is valid for a year. Mr. Chandran was denied enrolment despite a vacancy in the department because of his political affiliation and his caste, alleged Mr. Ahammed. Mr. Chandran is also the Malappuram district president of the Kerala Students Union.

Mr. Ahammed also alleged, quoting Mr. Chandran, that the selection process for the Ph.D programme lacked transparency. Question papers for the entrance test were prepared and evaluated by teachers of the department, which was against rules. It could lead to malpractices. He also claimed that the reservation rules were ambiguous and prone to misappropriation. Though the Director of Admissions was required to collect a status report from various departments on possible violations of rules, it was not being done. Mr. Ahammed also alleged that many other students had complained that the entrance process of the departments was not transparent.

He urged the Chancellor to direct the university authorities to ensure transparency in the entrance process for admission to postgraduate, M.Phil, and Ph.D courses.