Protests mar MCA counselling at Anna University

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Sun, 07/21/2013 - 07:00

Chaos prevailed on the Anna University campus on Saturday during counselling for the Master of Computer Applications (MCA) course.

The parents of over 70 students protested, demanding seats be immediately allocated to their wards. The students were rejected seats because they could not produce last semester’s certificates.

“What can we do if our university did not declare the results on time? Anna University should give us a chance because it is not our fault. We have all the other certificates,” said N. Renuka, parent of a student from Erode.

The rejected candidates were mostly from Bharathidasan University, Periyar University and Thiruvallur University. Many of them had travelled from the districts for an MCA seat in Anna University.

Around 1.30 p.m., Periyar University declared its results, after which candidates were called in for MCA admissions. “We found that of the ten who applied, four had failed. This proves the importance of producing previous semester’s marks,” said a senior professor of Anna University. 

A professor from Thiruvallur University said the delay was because of exams being postponed due to the Sri Lankan protests. Also, Anna University had advanced its MCA counselling schedule a little, the professor said.

Anna University officials said the problem could have been averted if all the universities had declared their results on time. The counselling had always been held in the third week of July — a day or two before MCA admissions began in private colleges, the official said.

“We wanted to finish the process so that eligible students could have a go at government colleges first. Also, this would prevent students from having to pay the fee in two places,” he said.

The one-day counselling, however, was completed by evening with 141 of 360 seats going vacant.

Anna University officials said they would allot seats to the candidates that were turned away on Saturday, if they were found to be eligible after declaration of their results. “We have their contact numbers. We will call them soon,” the official said.