SD College exam row: Principal denies lapses amid student protests

ALAPPUZHA: Dr. V. R. Prabhakaran Nair, the Principal of SD College, has addressed the allegations regarding irregularities in the conduct of examinations. He denied that there were any lapses in the exam process and stated that the current protests on campus are linked to the filling of the college pond rather than the examination matter.

According to the Principal, the change in the question paper code was detected at the beginning of the evaluation process. The matter was immediately reported to Kerala University, and he stated that further action rests with the university authorities.

The issue arose after question papers meant for the supplementary examination and the regular examination were mistakenly exchanged. As a result, Kerala University withheld the results of the affected examinations. Following this, the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) staged a protest at the college.

The mix-up involved the first semester examination. Students who appeared for the supplementary exam were given the regular exam question paper, while regular candidates received the supplementary question paper. The exams were conducted in late December and early January, and results began to be published from February 4. However, the results of the exams affected by the code mismatch were not released.

The error reportedly occurred when teachers distributed the wrong question papers, leading to a mismatch in the question paper codes. Once the discrepancy was identified, the university withheld the results, triggering protests by students who blamed the college authorities for the delay.