MSM College fake certificate: Contradictory statements add fuel to controversy

Nikhil is a second-year M.Com student at Kayamkulam MSM College. The degree credential Nikhil Thomas provided for admission to the M.Com programme is allegedly a fake, according to the complaint. From 2018 to 2020, Nikhil Thomas attended Kayamkulam MSM College to complete his B.Com. However, it was alleged that the SFI leader was unable to earn the degree.

Kayamkulam:  A significant revelation in the fake degree certificate dispute was made by Kerala University Vice Chancellor Mohan Kunnammal. According to Mohan Kunnummal, SFI member Nikhil Thomas attended Kayamkulam MSM College for three years, from 2017 to 2020, and took the exam during that time. The registrar is required to confirm Nikhil's degree certificate.

Refuting the claims made by SFI state secretary PM Arsho, the VC said that Nikhil has appeared for the exam until the final semester in the MSM College, Kayamkulam. Without attendance, one cannot appear in the exam. He was the Joint Secretary of the University Union in the year 2018-19. The course was done annually for three years from 2017 to 2020. The document submitted to the university states that he has passed the first class there.

“The UGC in 2013 had made it clear that a student can enroll for more than one degree simultaneously. However, one degree should be cancelled. This rule was changed in 2022. Nikhil Thomas had cancelled his registration for the course under the Kerala University,” Arsho had stated. 

At the same time, in yet another major claim, Kalinga University revealed that a student named Nikhil Thomas has not studied at their university. The registrar of the Kalinga University Sandeep Gandhi said that he will take legal action against Nikhil Thomas. The registrar said that based on the media reports, they intervened in the matter.

PM Arsho earlier today emphasised that there was no proof that Thomas had really attended the sessions at Kalinga University and questioned how a university could grant the diploma without requiring a minimum level of attendance. 

"It should be investigated if there is a university that does not require attendance. Nikhil Thomas only submitted original certificates. Without looking at his credentials, the media reported the story," claimed Arsho. 

Arsho himself had been into trouble after it was revealed on the website of the Maharaja's College in Ernakulam that he had passed the third-semester Archaeology exams without taking them.