Kerala University has decided to discontinue the use of the Kerala Resources for Education Administration and Planning (K-REAP) e-governance software, introduced by the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government to integrate the activities undertaken by all institutions.

The decision to abandon the enterprise resource planning software comes amid the detection of errors in the results of various examinations.

The Syndicate has formally withdrawn the results of the first and fourth semesters’ supplementary examinations under the Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUGP) owing to alleged errors in the results generated through the K-REAP software.

Serious discrepancies

Official sources said several serious discrepancies were detected, including results not appearing on students’ profiles, results being generated for non-existent subjects, changes in marks obtained in improvement examinations, and students being shown as having passed subjects they had not cleared. Consequently, the university decided to withdraw the results and adopt steps to address the errors.

The university’s decision to move away from K-REAP also comes amid concerns over whether the system can reliably handle the registration and conduct of the FYUGP semester 1, 3 and 5 examinations that are scheduled for October and November. Apprehension also prevails over the system’s ability to handle the academic requirements of students progressing to the fourth year of FYUGP.

The Syndicate also observed that K-REAP does not provide facilities required for certain FYUGP processes, including credit transfer for students entering the fourth year, the award of credits for online and additional courses, and the option of completing a programme a semester ahead of schedule.

The issue has prompted the university to restore the examination software developed by its Computer Centre. The centre will also be strengthened to ensure greater control over examination data and enable the university to intervene directly when technical or result-related problems arise.

K-REAP was conceived as an integrated digital platform for university administration, including admissions, examinations and student lifecycle management. The Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) is the implementation agency, while ASAP Kerala had been entrusted with implementation. Its implementation involves Maharashtra Knowledge Corporation Ltd. (MKCL) as the knowledge partner. 

Incidentally, Kannur University recently instituted an inquiry into various issues attributed to the software based on complaints from teachers and students. Mahatma Gandhi University and Calicut University continue to operate examination-related systems under their own control, the Syndicate observed.

Software by varsities

Meanwhile, Save University Campaign Committee has petitioned the Chief Minister, Higher Education Minister and the KSHEC, calling for steps to withdraw K-REAP from educational institutions in Keralam, and to instead operationalise software developed and operated by the respective universities.

Besides, the universities should retain direct control of the system, which should not be operated by a third-party agency to address concerns over examination security and safeguard the integrity of student data.