THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
For the first time, final year engineering students in Goa with more than six backlog papers of previous years now have hope to save a year which they otherwise would spend to earn their degree.
The Goa University is holding a special semester 7 examination for such students who have up to 12 backlog papers.
A notification put out by Goa University (GU) last week has made it official.
"It is notified for the information of all concerned that the ATKT students of B.E. Pre Revised Program (RC 2007-08) from Goa College of Engineering, Farmagudi, Don Bosco College of Engineering, Fatorda, Shree Rayeshwar Institute of Engineering and Information Technology, Shiroda, and Agnel institute of Technology and Design, Assagao are given an opportunity to answer Semester VII and other backlog papers of lower semesters at special examinations to be held in August/September 2019 subject to the maximum of 12 papers," reads the notification, signed by the Controller of Examinations (CoE).
The students will be answering their eighth semester as usual.
The only engineering college not sent the notification is Padre Conceicao College of Engineering (PCCE), Verna, because the college, due to an error, had already allowed students with more than six backs to answer Sem 7 in November-December 2018, breaking the rules.
Due to this error, the University has been forced to allow students of the remaining engineering colleges to also answer Sem 7 in this special exam.
The last date to fill the verified application forms from colleges is July 29. Those who miss this deadline will still be allowed to fill the form with a late fee payment of Rs 280 up to August 1.
Under normal circumstances, students who have more than six back papers cannot answer the current semester. However, PCCE, Verna, did not follow this rule, and allowed students with additional backs to appear for their seventh semester exams, thus putting students in other engineering colleges at an unfair disadvantage.
When the GU found out about this, they carried out a thorough investigation at the college, to find out where the problem lay.
In the meanwhile, the news spread like wildfire among the student community, and students from other colleges approached the Goa University Students Council (GUSC) who took their grievances to the CoE asking that an exception be made for all students in the state.
Giving in to the students' demands, the academic council of GU agreed to let all students with backlogs answer the final semester as scheduled, and hold a special exam for the seventh semester in September. The results of the same will be declared all together, soon after the exams.
