UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Kerala varsity campus politics rules not finalised: Minister

Q1. The obligation on Kerala's State universities to frame student codes of conduct regulating campus political activity originated principally from which one of the following authorities?

  • A. The Kerala State Higher Education Council, the apex advisory body on higher education in the State
  • B. The Kerala High Court, acting on public interest litigations filed after a campus killing in 2018
  • C. The Chancellor of the University of Kerala, who is the head of the University under the Act of 1974
  • D. The Department of Higher Education of the Government of Kerala, acting through an executive order

Q2. With reference to the events that led to the framing of campus codes of conduct by Kerala's universities, consider the following: 1. The student whose murder triggered the litigation was a leader of the Students' Federation of India. 2. The killing took place at Maharaja's College, Ernakulam. 3. The incident occurred in July 2018. 4. The direction to frame codes of conduct followed an amendment to the Kerala University Act, 1974, rather than any public interest litigation. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The student whose murder triggered the litigation was a leader of the Students' Federation of India.
  2. The killing took place at Maharaja's College, Ernakulam.
  3. The incident occurred in July 2018.
  4. The direction to frame codes of conduct followed an amendment to the Kerala University Act, 1974, rather than any public interest litigation.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3 only
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 3 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q3. With reference to the model student code of conduct invoked in Kerala's campus-politics debate, consider the following: 1. The model rules were framed by Mahatma Gandhi University. 2. They were cited by the Kerala High Court as a framework for other State universities to follow. 3. They were notified in 2018, in the aftermath of the Maharaja's College incident. 4. Kerala University's draft regulations were prepared by the University's legal section incorporating provisions of those model rules. Which of the above is/are correctly identified?

  1. The model rules were framed by Mahatma Gandhi University.
  2. They were cited by the Kerala High Court as a framework for other State universities to follow.
  3. They were notified in 2018, in the aftermath of the Maharaja's College incident.
  4. Kerala University's draft regulations were prepared by the University's legal section incorporating provisions of those model rules.
  • A. 1 and 3 only
  • B. 2, 3 and 4 only
  • C. 1, 2 and 4 only
  • D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q4. Approximately how many years separated the framing of the Mahatma Gandhi University students' code of conduct rules from the Kerala High Court directive that held them up as a model for other State universities?

  • A. About 8 years
  • B. About 11 years
  • C. About 13 years
  • D. About 16 years

Q5. The draft regulations on campus political activity at the University of Kerala were actually prepared by which wing of the University, acting on the instructions of a Syndicate sub-committee?

  • A. The legal section of the University
  • B. The Academic Council of the University
  • C. The Department of Students' Services of the University
  • D. The office of the Registrar of the University

Q6. In the governance architecture of the University of Kerala, the 'Syndicate' is best described as which one of the following?

  • A. The apex body before which every rule or bye-law made for the University's bodies must be placed at its next succeeding meeting
  • B. The academic authority that prescribes courses of study and regulates the conduct of examinations of the University
  • C. The executive authority of the University, competent to make rules and bye-laws not inconsistent with the Act, Statutes, Ordinances and Regulations
  • D. The ceremonial head of the University, who presides at its convocations and over meetings of its supreme body

Q7. Kerala's Higher Education Minister Roji M. John holds office in the United Democratic Front government formed after the Assembly election of April 2026. Immediately before that election, for how many consecutive terms had the outgoing Left Democratic Front been in office in the State?

  • A. One
  • B. Two
  • C. Three
  • D. Four

Q8. The Higher Education Minister's description, in September 2026, of the University of Kerala's campus code of conduct as 'not finalised' precisely means which one of the following?

  • A. A regulation already notified by the University and enforceable in all its affiliated colleges from the current academic year
  • B. A rule framed by the State Government that entirely prohibits political activity in every university of the State
  • C. A draft still under examination, to be taken up with student organisations and placed before the Syndicate for approval
  • D. A High Court order that operates directly in every State university without requiring approval by any university authority

Q9. The Students' Federation of India (SFI), one of the organisations objecting to the proposed campus code of conduct, is correctly described as which one of the following?

  • A. The students' organisation of the Indian National Congress in Kerala, whose activists have headed university unions in the State
  • B. A statutory students' council constituted in each affiliated college under the Kerala University Act, 1974
  • C. The student wing of the undivided Communist Party of India, which ceased to function after the party split of 1964
  • D. The students' organisation associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the party formed after the 1964 split in the CPI

Q10. On Kerala's campuses, the Kerala Students Union (KSU) carries out the student-level organisational work of which one of the following?

  • A. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which has led the Left Democratic Front in Kerala
  • B. The Indian National Congress, the party that leads the United Democratic Front in Kerala
  • C. A federation of all student unions recognised by every State university in Kerala
  • D. A statutory students' council constituted in every affiliated college by the University Syndicate