Students who graduated years ago from Jharkhand university called back for one more exam after administrative ‘oversight’

For some, the move to hold the exams now is welcome, as they can finally apply for government jobs that they found out they were ineligible for as they did not have both GEs. For others, the move is an inconvenience, as they already have jobs or have moved out of Jharkhand.

Students said the matter began with a misapplication of the CBCS, a curriculum framework introduced by the UGC in 2015 to give students the flexibility to choose subjects beyond their core discipline.

Under this system, students were required to complete two general elective (GE-1 and GE-2) papers over four semesters. However, due to what students describe as a “major oversight”, they were made to appear for only one of the two papers.

“The university administration didn’t realise that students were supposed to take both GE-1 and GE-2. Exams were held for only one, and students were declared to have passed. Now, those same students are facing hurdles when applying for teaching or other government jobs in other states,” said Sanatan Pingua, a student leader.

The lapse came to light when students applying for teaching jobs or higher education outside the state were asked why they only have seven papers on their marksheets instead of the required eight. In some cases, discrepancies in pass marks were also flagged.

A government employee in Bihar, who graduated from Kolhan University, said that he had no difficulty getting a job, and that he has no interest in taking the exam now. “I already have a government job, but there are others still facing issues due to the university’s lapse. Many may face problems in the future while appearing for civil service exams or other government sector jobs,” he said.

Another student leader, Manjit Hasda, raised concerns about the validity of the exam. “Many students have already obtained migration certificates or transferred out of the university. If a student is no longer officially enrolled, their eligibility to sit for an examination conducted by the university may be legally challenged,” he said.

The lapse is not limited to three-year degree courses like BA and BSc, but extends to the B.Ed. programme.

Anuj Purty, a B.Ed. student, pointed out that since 2015, the B.Ed. programme has been a two-year course requiring two “Method” papers under the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) guidelines. However, Kolhan University has been offering only one. “The second paper has been omitted from the syllabus for years, preventing students from applying for government teaching jobs,” he said.

Kanchan Lata, who is in the final year of her B.Ed., said that the university has never conducted the second “Method” paper since 2015. “Because of this, many students couldn’t apply for government teaching jobs,” she said.

She also flagged another concern, saying that earlier, the Women’s College was under Kolhan University, but now it is under the newly formed Women’s University. “On earlier mark sheets, Kolhan University was mentioned, but now it will be Women’s University. Won’t this create issues for those preparing for government jobs?”

Following a protest on July 31 and multiple appeals, the university agreed to hold the special exam. Kolhan University has issued a notification asking all graduates from the 2017 to 2024 batches, who missed the GE-2 paper, to appear for it. While the date of the exam has not been announced, registrations for it opened on July 28 and will close on August 16.

University Registrar Parshuram Siyal said there was no issue with the syllabus earlier, and the GE-1 paper had been conducted as per norms. “However, certain government departments later raised objections when candidates applied for jobs, citing the absence of the GE-2 paper as a requirement. This led to a formal request to the university to hold the exam,” he said.

He said that the university is verifying UGC guidelines on generic papers and the provisions under NCTE for B.Ed. students.