Thenhipalam: Even after two months since the start of the four-year undergraduate courses at the Calicut university, students still do not have access to their textbooks. Textbooks of Ability Enhancement Course (AEC) English, a foundation course for first-semester undergraduates is not printed.

The textbooks for language, science, commerce and humanities streams titled 'English Language Skills for Literature', 'English Language Skills for Science', 'English Language and Management', and 'English Language Skills for Humanities', have yet to be printed. The model question papers for these subjects have not been made available either.

The non availability of textbooks and model question papers has caused a crisis for both students and teachers, as examinations of each semester will be conducted at the end of particular semesters. Dr. Abida Farooqi, assistant professor of Department of English at Kondotty Government College and senate member, has written a letter to the Vice-Chancellor pointing out the issue.

“The absence of the course syllabus and model question papers for the AEC course, even two months after classes have begun, is causing serious concern among teachers and students. The university must take immediate action, as the first semester exams are scheduled to begin in November. Otherwise, this will be a grave injustice to the students,” she wrote.

Earlier, the decision to have the foundation course textbooks for English and Malayalam printed by  cooperative society rather than the university press had sparked debate. In response, the Vice-Chancellor froze the decision during a syndicate meeting held on August 31. He also stated that an appropriate resolution would be made soon regarding the issue.

Meanwhile, guides for the AEC and Malayalam courses have been published by private companies.