Latest news with #KEAM-2025
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Behind the dispute over the Kerala Engineering and Architecture Examination (KEAM) merit list
The results of the Kerala Engineering, Architecture and Medical Entrance Examination 2025 (KEAM-2025), published early this month, have led to a legal battle between applicants from the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and state board streams. On Wednesday (July 16), the Supreme Court heard the matter. According to an official notification, 86,549 candidates appeared for the KEAM engineering examination this year. Around 67,505 students have been included in the rank list. Here is what has happened. On July 1, the commissioner of the entrance examination published the rank list for engineering and architecture admissions. This was done an hour after amending the prospectus that was first published back in February, with regard to the criteria for calculating marks. The amendment reportedly ensured better representation of students who studied in state board-affiliated schools in the rank list. However, the CBSE students then approached the Kerala High Court, which cancelled the rank list and asked the state to prepare a fresh list according to the previous norms in the prospectus. The government appealed in the court, but a division bench of the HC rejected it, resulting in the publication of a new rank list based on the previous prospectus norms. On Tuesday, state board students approached the Supreme Court, challenging the revised rank list. Rationale behind the changed calculation When the prospectus was published on February 19, it said the 10+2 marks of Maths, Physics and Chemistry will be accounted for in the ratio of 1:1:1. Both the marks obtained in the entrance examination and the 10+2 board examination will be considered in a 50/50 scheme for admissions. However, on July 1, the government tweaked the formula so that the Maths, Physics, and Chemistry marks would be in the ratio of 5:3:2, instead of the earlier ratio used since 2011. The government was of the view that the amendment will rectify a disparity caused by the existing formula, which left the Kerala board students in a disadvantaged position. It claimed the new norms will give a level playing field for students from both boards. This was also deemed necessary because a section of the state board students hail from lower and middle-class backgrounds and study at public schools. Therefore, after the prospectus was published in February, the government formed a standardisation review committee on April 9 to study the formula used to calculate standardised/normalised marks and suggest amendments. After examining the recommendations, the government decided to amend the formula for preparing the KEAM-2025 rank list, in a bid to remove disparity between students from the two boards. Impact on the results When the rank list was prepared after amending the formula, state board students performed well. The top 5,000 ranks included 2,539 students from the Kerala board, and 2,220 were from the CBSE. This slight edge for state board students was attributed to the last-minute change in the marks formula. In KEAM-2024, as many as 2,785 students in the first 5,000 ranks were from the CBSE stream, and 2,034 were from the state board. This year, when the first list was published, 55 students were from CBSE and 43 from Kerala board in the top 100 rankings. After the revised list, this changed to 79 and 21, respectively. In the past too, when performance in the entrance examination was the sole criterion for the rank list, a major chunk of the top rank holders were from the CBSE stream. The government was of the view that if the practice continued, only the students who can afford the costly coaching for entrance exams would figure in the list. What courts held When the CBSE students legally challenged the prospectus revision, the High Court said, 'It appears that somebody looked at the results and found that the students from the Kerala stream have not done fairly good, and to satisfy the constituency, such a mala fide decision in an arbitrary manner has been taken to change the prospectus one hour before the publication of the result. Such an exercise of power is wholly arbitrary, illegal, unjustified and cannot be countenanced on any ground. Rules of the game cannot be changed midway, once the game has begun.'' Aggrieved over the High Court verdict, the Kerala board students approached the Supreme Court, which did not stay the revised rank list. The court said it did not want to create a sense of 'uncertainty' among students.' The BTech admission process is slated for completion by August 14. The court also served notices to the state commissioner for the entrance examination and has listed the matter for next month.
The Hindu
15-07-2025
- 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
09-07-2025
- 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.
