JOIN USStudents seek question papers in Kannada, protest
Candidates appearing for PhD entrance examinations in the University of Mysore (UoM) at Maharani College, in the city, on Sunday, boycotted the examinations and staged a protest.
Even though more than 3,000 candidates attended the entrance examinations, in 73 subjects, candidates of ten humanities subjects boycotted the examinations, as Kannada version of the question papers were not provided.
While UoM authorities maintained that PhD entrance examinations can be held only in English, as per the University Grants Commission (UGC) regulations, they agreed to postpone the examinations, so that the candidates appearing in Kannada, can attend.
Candidates seeking entrance to PhD in Economics, Mass Communication and Journalism, Cooperative Studies, Anthropology, South Indian Studies, Gandhian Studies, Dance, Geography, Jainology and Prakrit, and Speech and Hearing demanded question papers in Kannada.
Shivakumar P, a PhD aspirant, said, they staged a protest as question papers of some subjects had Kannada versions, while some did not. “This makes it difficult for candidates from rural background to attend the examination. Though there were Kannada question papers during the past three years, it has been discontinued now,” he said.
C Basavaraju, Registrar, UoM, said, the protest was due to the fact that some humanities subjects had Kannada versions too, while some had only English version of the question papers. So, a few candidates in Sociology and Education, who had exams in the morning boycotted. Examinations for eight subjects, which were scheduled to be held in the noon, without Kannada versions of the question paper, were postponed, he said.
Hundred students
He said, the varsity would write to the UGC regarding conducting of PhD entrance examinations in Kannada and would announce the dates soon and added that about a hundred students were inconvenienced. K S Rangappa, Vice-Chancellor, UoM, said, the problem would be addressed soon. “It is not mandatory, as per UGC guidelines, to conduct entrance examinations in Kannada. The UoM also did not find any translators to translate the concerned question papers. However, we will sort out the issue and conduct the examination in two weeks,” he said.