One Year Wait To Clear Backlogs: TN Wide Protests By Anna University Students Against Current Arrear System

On Friday (18 January), hundreds of students from Anna University announced a statewide protest to condemn the existing arrear system that allows students to retake a failed exam only after one year.

The protests were to be held outside the university’s campus in Chennai and the campuses of affiliated colleges in Tamil Nadu. This rule came into force from 2017 and has spelt trouble for final year students as it disrupts their opportunity to pursue employment or higher studies.

The New Indian Express quoted an university student as saying, “Students will have to waste a whole year after finishing college before they take the next step in their life. The management should conduct arrear exams in the subsequent semester itself.”

Under this rule if a student fails in five exams, he or she has to wait one year to reappear for three papers and hold on for an additional year to write the other two. This effectively increases the course duration by two years.

The Vice-Chancellor of Anna University MK Surappa has stated that the management decided last week to provide a leeway for seventh-semester students in this regard. He assured that the academic council would meet soon to decide if its possible to allow students to take the supplementary exam in the next semester itself.