State Higher Education Minister Roji M. John said the government has limitations in interfering academic decisions of autonomous colleges. File | Photo Credit: Thulasi Kakkat A 20-year-old BTech student from Arunachal Pradesh was found dead at Kothamangalam in Kerala’s Ernakulam district, triggering protests from students and prompting the State government to initiate a probe into the incident. Michi Marpu, a native of Naharlagun in Papum Pare in Arunachal Pradesh, was found dead at his rented residence around 4.30 p.m. on Saturday (August 15, 2026). The deceased was a third-year engineering student at Mar Athanasius College of Engineering (MACE), Kothamangalam. Though he was rushed to the Kothamangalam Taluk Hospital by his friends, he was declared brought dead. A section of students alleged that Marpu was distressed over the ‘year break system’ in the college which reportedly mandated that only students who score 22 credits in Semester 4 are allowed to proceed to the next semester. The protesting students claimed that the minimum credit requirement for continuing studies at other engineering colleges in the State is only 18. …