Plea to Chancellor against K-REAP project in Calicut University

A Syndicate member and a Senate member of the University of Calicut have approached Chancellor Arif Mohammed Khan against the implementation of the Kerala Resources for Education Administration and Planning (K-REAP) project, aimed at integrating the administrative systems in universities and colleges in the State, by a Maharashtra-based company.

V.M. Chacko, the Senate member, said in his letter to Mr. Khan that Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Ltd., a company with poor track record, had been entrusted with the software development and maintenance. From registering for the four-year undergraduate exams to the point of distributing mark lists, MKCL would handle various examination-related tasks for the universities. When teachers and students register with MKCL, they submit data to the company domain and server.

However, the data is not transferred to the university’s domain or server, Mr. Chacko said. MKCL, not the universities, provides guidance to teachers and students. He claimed that eight universities in Maharashtra had severed their links with MKCL as a result of the numerous complaints filed against the organisation. Quoting from the minutes of an executive body meeting of the Kerala State Higher Education Council on May 23, he said that MKCL did not participate in the tender, while ASAP Ltd. did, and that MKCL was carrying out its responsibilities for ASAP Ltd. while making the misleading claim that MKCL and ASAP Ltd. had a strategic partnership.

P. Rasheed Ahammed, the Syndicate member, urged the Chancellor to immediately halt the implementation of the project and direct the university to leverage its internal resources to develop a robust, secure system for managing student data. He said that direction can be given to the university to seek the assistance of a trusted public firm if required for the transfer of credits. Steps should be taken to protect the autonomy and integrity of the university by ensuring that all decisions are aligned with its mission and values. It should also be ensured that no agreement or data transfer occurs without adequate legal scrutiny and adherence to IT regulations.