ASHOKA. P. Vs. KANNUR UNIVERSITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioners are all students who have obtained B.A. degree under the Distance Education Programme of a Deemed University, viz., Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, Tirupati and applied for B.Ed. course under the 1st respondent, Kannur University, carried on by the 2nd respondent. The applications were processed as per Exhibit P4 Prospectus and the students were admitted on an undertaking that Equivalency Certificate will be produced by them evidencing that the degree obtained by them are equivalent to the degree granted by the respondent -University.

(2.) THE petitioners made applications for the same; but the University, after reference to the Academic Council, rejected equivalency. The rejection was on two grounds; one, the course being not equivalent to the degree carried on by the respondent -University and the other being that the petitioners were not students who had undergone 10+2+3 Scheme of studies. The petitioners were before this Court on an earlier occasion with a writ petition, which was considered as per Exhibit P12. The petitioners also produced certificates to evidence that the petitioners had undertaken the 10+2+3 Scheme of study. In such context and in the context of the admitted fact that the respondent -University had treated as equivalent a graduate degree issued by the Deemed University under the regular course, this Court, by Exhibit P12, directed the respondent -University to reconsider the same. The petitioners herein assail Exhibit P15, by which such reconsideration was done, in compliance of the directions issued by this Court and the claim negatived.

(3.) HOWEVER , Exhibit P15 reveals a detailed look into the syllabi of the Deemed University as also that of the respondent -University. Exhibit P15 finds that the Shastri (B.A.) Distance Education Degree of the Deemed University has only general subjects in Sanskrit. The Elective papers were found to be in totally unrelated subjects, like Computer Applications, Hindi Literature, Kannada Literature, Mathematics and so on and so forth. The Sanskrit syllabus which is imparted by the Deemed University was found to be very meagre and general in nature and also incomparable, both in quality and quantity to the syllabi of the respondent -University. A student of the B.A. degree course in Sanskrit of the Kannur University, according to the Academic Council, studies Sanskrit Language and Literature in a detailed way and would have thorough awareness of ancient Indian Culture, the Vedas, Epics, Upanishads, Darshanas, Kavyas, History of Sanskrit Language & Literature, etc. On a comparison of the two syllabi, it was found that the depth of the syllabus of B.A. (Sanskrit) of the Kannur University is in no manner comparable to that of the Deemed University, the latter of which, according to the Academic Council, is very shallow in its content. It was in such circumstance that the B.A.Degree in Sanskrit under the Distance Education Programme of the Deemed University was rejected equivalency.