How is the College of Engineering Trivandrum compared to NIT Calicut?

One of my friends was a student of NIT Calicut and a relative of mine is an alumnus of the College of Engineering Trivandrum. So the answer will be a comparison of their experiences.

Exams: 

• The system of Kerala University involves allowing the students to appear for supplementary exams to avoid delay in studying for their B.Tech degrees. 
• In NIT, you will have to repeat the exams you have failed in. This can be either a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you approach your curriculum and exams.

Admission:

• Students getting admission to CET have to appear for the KEAM; except for a small quota which is reserved for students from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Mizoram, Nagaland who perform well in the National level Entrance test for NITs and IITs.
• For this reason, the cross-section of the class shows that there is a majority of Keralites.
• The campus of NIT Calicut seems to be diverse as students come from various states of India.

Classes:

• In CET, the classes are like the timetable of a school with a lunch break in the middle. The classes usually get over at 4:00 PM. 
• In NIT, the classes are not scheduled one after another and you can go to the hostel to catch a breather. The students probably have a say in how they want the classes to be scheduled throughout the week. Depending on your plans, you might find the intermittent NIT classes to increase your productivity.

Learning:

• In CET, the marks that one obtains in the exams are in no way related to the understanding of the subject matter. 
• The system cannot distinguish between rote knowledge and understanding which is seemingly different from the conduction of exams in NIT. 
• It is difficult to predict question papers in CET.

CET students also get a lot of freedom as NIT students. They get ample time to do whatever they want.