Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) has reinstated Kozhikode in Kerala as one of its entrance examination centres, just a day after removing Thiruvananthapuram—the only such centre in South India—from its list, a move that sparked controversy.
The university updated its admission prospectus on its website late Saturday morning, and its Chief Media Coordinator, Quamrul Hassan, confirmed that Kozhikode had been added as a test centre but did not provide any further details.
According to the initial academic cycle 2025–26 prospectus, Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) removed Thiruvananthapuram and added two test centres in North and Central India—Malegaon and Bhopal—as new entrance test centres, joining Delhi, Lucknow, Guwahati, Patna, Kolkata, and Srinagar, which were also test centres last year.
JMI began conducting entrance exams for undergraduate and postgraduate courses in multiple centres from 2015 onward under Vice-Chancellor Talat Ahmad. Until 2014, entrance exams for UG and PG courses, except BTech and Diploma Engineering (Regular) programmes, were held only in Delhi.
In 2015, JMI entrance exams for UG and PG courses were held in 12 test centres: Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Bengaluru (Karnataka), Calicut/Kozhikode (Kerala), Delhi, Guwahati (Assam), Hyderabad (Telangana), Kolkata (West Bengal), Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), Mumbai (Maharashtra), Patna (Bihar), Ranchi (Jharkhand), and Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir).
In 2016, the number of exam centres was reduced to seven, but there was always a centre in Calicut, alongside Lucknow, Delhi, Patna, Guwahati, Srinagar, and Kolkata.
According to the prospectus, if the number of applicants for a course is 49 or less, the test will be held in Delhi. However, according to university sources, last year alone, 350 students appeared for the undergraduate Psychology exam in Kerala, and for other subjects, close to 200 students attended.
The decision to reinstate the test centre in Kerala was welcomed by student communities, who had strongly condemned the university’s earlier removal of Thiruvananthapuram.
The Muslim Students Federation (MSF) in JMI hailed it as a “victory” and thanked advocate Haris Beeran for his timely intervention in an Instagram post.
Rajya Sabha MP and advocate Haris Beeran wrote a letter to the Vice-Chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia on Friday, stating: “I would like to bring to your attention a matter of urgent concern regarding the removal of the Thiruvananthapuram entrance examination centre from the list of multi-city centres for the Jamia Millia Islamia entrance examinations for the academic year 2025–26.”
“For several years, JMI has provided an entrance test centre in Kerala, either in Thiruvananthapuram or Calicut, facilitating students from the state to appear for examinations without excessive financial and logistical burdens. However, with the removal of this centre from the prospectus this year, over 2,000 students from Kerala who intended to apply for various programs at JMI are now left in distress,” Beeran further added.
The removal of the Thiruvananthapuram centre sparked criticism, as it made travel expensive and challenging, particularly for underprivileged students struggling to book tickets.
Calling this an “inexplicable decision,” Shashi Tharoor asked, “Doesn’t JMI want South Indian students?”
“I am disappointed by the decision of Jamia Millia Islamia to cancel the only examination centre that they have in the South, which happens to be Thiruvananthapuram. It makes absolutely no sense; no explanation has been given to anybody, least of all the students. We had about 550 students taking the exam last year in Thiruvananthapuram. Where will this year’s students go, unless JMI has decided that they don’t want students from the South?” the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram said.
Various student organizations, including Fraternity Movement, SFI, and MSF, urged the authorities to restore Thiruvananthapuram as an examination centre and take necessary steps to ensure that all students, regardless of their geographical location, have an equal opportunity to appear for the entrance exam without unnecessary hardships.
Fraternity Movement Jamia Millia Islamia strongly condemned the “discriminatory exclusion of Kerala” from multiple-city exam centres in the upcoming entrance examinations and the recent fee hikes implemented in the fee structure for FYUP, Diploma, and certificate programmes.
“We assert that the administration has a responsibility to ensure education remains accessible to all students and aspirants, regardless of economic status or regional differences,” they added.
Condemning the decision, the Students Federation of India (SFI) said the decision is “not only unjustified but also severely disadvantages numerous aspirants from Kerala and other southern states who rely on Trivandrum as a convenient and accessible centre.”
“The removal of Trivandrum as an exam centre creates unnecessary logistical and financial burdens for students who will now be forced to travel long distances, incurring additional costs for accommodation and transport. Many aspirants from economically weaker backgrounds may even be discouraged from appearing for the exam altogether, directly affecting their chances of securing admission,” they added.
 has reinstated Kozhikode in Kerala as one of its entrance examination centres, just a day after removing Thiruvananthapuram—the only such centre in South India—from its list, a move that sparked controversy.){kind=link}