Mumbai: HC reprieve for 3,500 engineering students

In a relief for nearly 3,500 engineering students of private engineering colleges, the Academic Council of the University of Mumbai has decided to allow them to appear for the last two semesters of the Bachelor of Engineering (BE) course as per the old syllabus.

In a relief for nearly 3,500 engineering students of private engineering colleges, the Academic Council of the University of Mumbai has decided to allow them to appear for the last two semesters of the Bachelor of Engineering (BE) course as per the old syllabus.

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Advocate Rui Rodrigues, who represented the university, told the Bombay high court on Tuesday that the council had taken this decision on February 26.

According to the Academic Council’s decision, the engineering students appearing for their final year exams will have the option of choosing either the old pattern of 2007 or the revised pattern of 2012. However, as per the prevailing ATKT (allowed to keep term) rules – which permits students who have failed in not more than five subjects in the fifth and sixth semesters – they will be admitted to the seventh and eighth semesters of the final year.

Rodrigues was responding to two petitions filed by 26 students studying in private engineering colleges affiliated to the University of Mumbai.

However, Rodrigues pointed out that the new course was introduced from 2013-14 and the petitioner students were admitted in violation of the concerned ordinance of the university. He said the private engineering colleges wrongly gave provisional admissions to the petitioners and they could not continue the provisional admissions as all of them had been declared failed during re-evaluation.