17 April 2024 Education >> Miscellaneous  

A recent court ruling has come as a relief for four students whose admissions to a part-time diploma program in engineering were cancelled. The Government Polytechnic (hereafter Polytechnic) revoked their admission after six semesters, citing a lack of technical experience.

The petitioners had enrolled in the program in 2019 and successfully completed half the coursework. However, in 2022, Polytechnic initiated an enquiry based on a complaint and subsequently cancelled their admissions on the grounds that they did not possess the requisite experience in the technical field.

The students challenged this decision in court. The court pointed out that it had previously instructed Polytechnic to verify the petitioners' work experience to determine eligibility. The court argued that Polytechnic failed to properly investigate their work experience and instead relied on an interview to assess their technical knowledge, which wasn't part of the court's directive.

The petitioners had submitted experience certificates along with affidavits from the issuing parties. The court highlighted that Polytechnic made no attempt to verify the authenticity of these certificates.

The court emphasized that Polytechnic had already admitted the students after an initial verification process. Therefore, questioning their eligibility at this stage was deemed unfair. Moreover, the petitioners' successful completion of six semesters with good grades demonstrated their grasp of the subject matter.

In light of these arguments, the court ruled in favor of the petitioners. The court order quashed the cancellation of their admission and directed Polytechnic to allow them to complete the program. Additionally, the court mandated that Polytechnic conduct special exams for the remaining semesters if the program had been discontinued.