Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala University is set to undo the fallout of the mark scam that has sullied its image. The Vice-Chancellor (VC) has ordered to revoke the marklist of the beneficiary students, just two days after demanding a Crime Branch probe into the alleged irregularities by which university hands themselves awarded additional marks to several students in a bid to help them clear a few examinations.
Dr V P Mahadevan Pillai, the VC, has ordered to cancel the marklist of all those who were illegally awarded additional moderation marks after the computer database was broken into by unidentified people.
4 employees transferred
The University has transferred four employees of the Examination Section. They are the deputy registrar, who was in charge of the section; a section officer and two assistants. Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel had asked the University to take strict action against those employees, who were likely behind the scam.
Seventy user IDs that were in use to log into the computer network of the University have also been cancelled.
It was revealed that even after some officials were transferred out, their login credentials were not cancelled and the latter were used to commit the fraud.
Meanwhile, the mastermind behind the scam and the number of students who benefitted from the fraud are yet to be identified. A count of all those who got the illegal moderation is being taken.
The employees who worked in the Examination Section and the students who collected their marklists immediately after the mark manipulation are under the scrutiny of the university authorities.
It is alleged hundreds of students were given additional moderation marks in 16 examinations that were held between June 2016 and January 2019. It has also been found that the moderation mark decided by the Pass Board was not awarded to some students.
The fraud reportedly pertains to examinations of BBA and BCA courses held from 2016 onwards.
The police would take a decision on Monday whether to concede to the University's demand for a Crime Branch probe over the incident. A final decision would be taken only after the preliminary probe.
Meanwhile, a committee tasked by the University to probe into the scam would meet on Monday. The three-member committee led by the pro-vice-chancellor would include a technical expert. The report would be submitted during the syndicate meet on November 22 and the follow-up action would be taken.
