Latest news with #KEAM-2025
The Hindu
17 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Supreme Court decides to wait a day for Kerala government's take on KEAM 2025 revised rank list
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) gave the Kerala government 24 hours to inform if it intends to appeal a High Court direction to publish the revised rank list of the Kerala Engineering Architecture and Medical Examination (KEAM) 2025. A Bench headed by Justice P.S. Narasimha made it clear that the court's interference would be minimal and based on legal principles and not on facts. 'We are very clear... We are not going to interfere in any existing selection, appointment processes. The country is plagued with this problem of uncertainty as every exam, every appointment comes under challenge and gets delayed. We will consider this case on principles, but so far as facts are concerned, we will not interfere,' Justice Narasimha addressed the parties in the court room. Scheduling the case for hearing for July 16, the court instructed Kerala State counsel C.K. Sasi to take instructions from the government and apprise the Bench. Original prospectus The original prospectus for KEAM 2025, which was held between April 22-30, had prescribed that the marks obtained in 10+2 in respect of Maths, Physics and Chemistry would be in the ratio of 1:1:1. However, the Kerala government had constituted a Standardisation Review Committee on April 9 to study the method and formula used to calculate standardised/normalised marks of KEAM-2025 and to suggest any changes. The committee had submitted its report on June 2. Following which, the State, taking into consideration the committee report and the suggestions given by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations, decided to amend the ratio for subject marks in KEAM 2025. On July 1, the State ordered that the marks obtained in 10+2 for Maths, Physics and Chemistry would be taken in the ratio of 5:3:2 instead of the earlier 1:1:1. The existing 50:50 ratio for marks obtained in the entrance examination and 10+2 Board examination would continue. The State published the KEAM rank list the same day. On July 10, the High Court directed the reversion to 1:1:1 as provided in the original prospectus. The High Court had reasoned that the modification to the standardisation formula was made belatedly, after the conclusion of the entrance examination and merely an hour prior to the publication of the rank list. The High Court had found the timing both arbitrary and unsustainable in law. The revised rank list was published on July 11. Appearing for the State syllabus students on Tuesday, advocates Prashant Bhushan and Zulfiker Ali P.S., argued that the State was empowered to make the amendments to original prospectus to create a 'level playing field for candidates of the State Board and the CBSE'. 'The old standardisation formula [prior to the amendment to the original prospectus] was disproportionate and disadvantageous to the majority of students studying under the State syllabus in government schools. It is important to note that in Kerala government school students predominately come from middle and lower-income backgrounds,' Mr. Bhushan contended. Justice Narasimha remarked the 'new rule balances much better than the earlier one' but questioned the timing of the modification to the standardisation formula in July, months after the KEAM exam and just before the declaration of the results. 'The issue is we do not doubt the new rule, but when you introduce a new policy... can you do it all of a sudden? Do you not have to declare it first and say it will be implemented from next year…' Justice Narasimha asked advocate Bhushan. Senior advocate Raju Ramachandran and advocate Aljo Joseph, on a caveat for CBSE students, highlighted that the formula was revised an hour before the publication of the rank list on July 1. Mr. Bhushan said the problem of disparity between the State syllabus students and their CBSE counterparts had been flagged by the Controller of Examinations in 2024 itself. He said the High Court order had affected a large number of students in Kerala while seeking urgent relief.
The Hindu
7 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Kerala High Court quashes KEAM 2025 entrance exam results
The Kerala High Court on Wednesday (July 9, 2025) quashed the results of the Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical (KEAM) 2025 entrance examinations. The results were announced earlier this month. Passing the order, Justice D.K. Singh stated that the revised method in KEAM 2025 to calculate the ranks adversely affected students who studied CBSE or ICSE syllabus in their higher secondary classes. The order came on a petition filed by Hana Fatima Ahnus, a student who had appeared for the KEAM exam, stating that the weightage criteria was made after the release of the exam's prospectus. The court termed this 'an illegal move.' The petitioner who appeared for the entrance exam to secure admission in engineering had alleged that the ranking procedure was amended on the date of publication of the rank list. This adversely affected her and that her rank was pushed to 4,209. A candidate who obtained similar marks in 2024 had been ranked 1,907, she said in her petition, and alleged that the amendment was 'arbitrary, illegal and malafide.' She further contended that this was made with 'the oblique motive to do away with' the weightage given to CBSE and ICSE students. The sudden change of the KEAM-2025 standardisation formula had left many students feeling frustrated and disillusioned as it impacted their expected ranks, following which many of them lodged complaints with the Kerala government, claiming that the normalisation method used this year was unfair and illogical. It had been reported that last year, State higher secondary students had suffered due to the flawed standardisation process by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations (CEE), which conducted KEAM. This year, however, CBSE and ICSE students were facing the brunt of it. The Unaided Schools Protection Council (USPC), an umbrella body of private schools, too had moved the High Court against the new standardisation method.
The Hindu
02-07-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Last-minute change in KEAM standardisation sparks protests
The sudden change in the KEAM-2025 (Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical entrance test) standardisation formula has left many students feeling frustrated and disillusioned as it impacted their expected ranks. A number of students have lodged complaints with the government, claiming that the normalisation method used this year was unfair and illogical. Last year, State higher secondary students had suffered due to the flawed standardisation process by the Commissioner of Entrance Examinations (CEE), which conducts KEAM. This year, however, CBSE and ICSE students are facing the brunt of it. The Unaided Schools Protection Council (USPC), an umbrella body of private schools, has moved the High Court against the new standardisation method. 'It is extremely discriminatory and illogical. Taking the subject topper's mark as a benchmark for standardisation is unfair,' said Jouhar M., USPC Malappuram district president. Several students affected by the new methodology too are joining the case. T. Fida from Chathamangalam, Kozhikode, and Devanarayanan from Ponnad, Alappuzha, are among them. The government decision has evoked widespread criticism for changing the rules on the eve of the announcement of the results. 'The rules of the game cannot be changed after the game has finished,' said Devanarayanan in a complaint to Higher Education Minister R. Bindu, quoting a Supreme Court judgement. The change in the weightage of higher secondary marks for mathematics, physics and chemistry from 1:1:1 formula to 5:3:2 has also been criticised. 'Having better weightage for mathematics may be good for engineering courses. But the implementation of the new rule after the examination is ridiculously unfair,' said higher education expert C. Mohammed Ajmal. He said the CEE had a moral obligation to inform the students about such changes in advance. 'If they had done so, it would have allowed students to tailor their studies and make informed decisions about where to focus,' said Mr. Ajmal. He also criticised the government for changing the rules 'in the game's injury time'. 'None can agree to this change irrespective of whether they are logical or no,' he said, warning that people seeking legal remedy would further delay and complicate the admissions through KEAM. While other entrance examinations, such as JEE, have progressed with their admission processes, KEAM has been delayed. The standardisation issue is expected to cause further delays in the process.
