APJ Abdul Kalam Technological University (KTU) has decided to appoint Dharmaraj Adat, former Vice-Chancellor of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, as its first Ombudsman.
The decision adopted by the Syndicate on Monday paves the way for KTU to become the first university in Kerala to comply with the norm laid down by both the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).
The Syndicate also resolved to organise monthly adalats for addressing students’ grievances. The adalat will be held on the first Thursday afternoon every month.
The university will establish a separate company to run the three proposed Centres of Excellence at Kottayam, Ernakulam and Kannur. The members of the company’s board of directors will include representatives of the university, academia, and industries.
Research outputs from these centres will be converted into products, following which action plans will be formulated to help KTU attain financial self-sufficiency through such endeavours. It was also decided to initiate research initiatives in collaboration with the university’s translational research centre.
The Syndicate also finalised plans to design and implement a mentoring scheme to upgrade 10 top engineering colleges to international standards. The university will collaborate with the Higher Education department to achieve its goal.
Penalty
The university decided to impose fines on two teachers of the Production Engineering department at Government Engineering College, Thrissur, who were purportedly found to have erred in evaluation. An inquiry had apparently found credible evidence into a complaint that the teachers had purposefully decreased the marks of students. The government has also been recommended to initiate further action in the issue.
It was also decided to hold the union elections in affiliated colleges on October 18. The Syndicate also decided to award PhD degrees to eight researchers.
