NAGPUR, July 25: In a blatant violation of Ordinance 10 covering the ATKT rules, the Nagpur University has admitted to B E-III a group of students who have not cleared the B E-I examination as yet.

A notification to this effect has been released by the Registrar, Dr Narayan Bhave. It is amusing to find the notification saying that this has been done ``as a very special case, not to be quoted as a precedent in future.'' Such a rider has no legal sanctity. In future, others will certainly demand that the rules be bent for them too.

First class diploma holders in the Engineering and Technology faculty are eligible to be admitted as regular students in the second year of the full time B.E. course, but they have to clear Mathematics I and II papers of B E-I.

This is easier said than done. Several diploma holders have failed in this attempt, although they have cleared enough subjects in the B E-II examination to be promoted on to B E-III. ATKT (Allowed To Keep Term) rules in Ordinance 10 clearly state that no student will be admitted to the third year of a degree course unless he has cleared all the subjects of the first year.

The notification issued by Bhave says that the students will be given two additional chances - in winter 1997 and summer 1998 to clear the first year Mathematics papers, and in the meantime, they would be admitted to B E-III, if eligible for ATKT in the B E-II examination.

Regular diploma-holder students of B E-I (Part-Time) during the 1996-97 session will also be given two additional attempts for clearing the Maths I and II papers of B E-I. They will be admitted to B E-II (Part-Time) if they have cleared 50 percent or more passing heads of B E-I.

Students of the Part-Time degree course who have completed the first year term and are discontinued during the year 1996-97 for their failure in Maths I and II, will be admitted to the second year if they are otherwise eligible. Sources say the pressure to relax the rules and make a special case of it came from top people in the university who are close to private colleges which run these courses. The students too had been demanding this occasions.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.