Only 12% of engg colleges got above l failed in 11

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Only 12% of engg colleges got above l failed in 11

Absence Of Quality Faculty, Tough Maths Paper Cited As Reasons

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

01.08.2020

Just 12% of affiliated engineering colleges in the state had more than 50% of students passing theNovember 2019 semester exams, while 11 got nil results. Of 443 engineering colleges, 220 had less than 25% students passing, raising serious questions about the quality of education.

While colleges cite a tough math question paper and stricter evaluation as main reasons, senior professors say it is because several senior faculty members were laid off following the relaxation in teacher-student ratio by All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) from 1:15 to 1:20.

The academic performance chart for the April and November 2019 semester exams released by Anna University shows that in April 100 colleges had more than 50% students passing compared to 57 colleges in November. The number of colleges with less than 25% students passing rose from 155 in April to 220 in November.

“The math exam in November was one of the toughest and many students were not able to clear it,” a principal of a city college said.

Even otherwise, Valliammai Engineering College principal B Chidambararajan said, students struggle to clear engineering math. “These include some top rankers from prominent institutions.” There is bound to be a difference in pass percentage compared to April and November, he said. “Many take exams in odd semesters (November) lightly and clear them in even semesters.”

M A Maluk Mohammed, director and correspondent of MAM College of Engineering and Technology in Trichy, said this showed the standard of students. “So far, the university used to give moderation and increase results of colleges. In an effort to standardize engineering education, the vice-chancellor of Anna University has done away with the moderation process. These marks are a true reflection of students. From here, the standard of engineering colleges will only improve.”

Some colleges said the pass percentage was fluctuating due to stricter evaluation and the lack of uniform answer keys across the state. “Anna University debarred 1,000 faculty members for deviation in marks after revaluation two years ago. It has affected the morale of faculty members and evaluation has become stricter,” an official of a college said.

A professor from another college said the quality of faculty members had come down after the relaxation of faculty-student ratio. “Many colleges sent their experienced faculty members away and it has now started to reflect on the performance of students,” he said.

Sources in Anna University said many top-performing affiliated colleges had become autonomous colleges and this was being reflected in the results. “In 2019 alone, 17 affiliated colleges got autonomous status. The university is making efforts to reduce the difficulty level in maths that is affecting the pass percentage of colleges.”

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