Mumbai: MSW students fear not getting jobs in absence of mark-sheets

Mumbai University

Even after appearing for three semesters, the Masters in Social Work (MSW) final year students of Rajiv Gandhi Contemporary Centre, which runs on the Mumbai University (MU) premises, have not received a single mark-sheet. What the students are now worried about are placements, as they are scheduled to appear for their final semester examination towards the end of March.

At a time when Mumbai University's result fiasco continues to haunt students, the centre's delay in issuing mark-sheets is simply adding to their woes. The course, which was started in the academic year 2016-17, has a total of 75 students. Though it's time for the first batch to complete the course, none of the students are sure about getting jobs in the absence of mark-sheets.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, one of the students said, "As the centre is an autonomous body, it designs the curriculum and conducts the examinations on its own. The MSW course was introduced last academic year and within such a short span, the centre's Director retired. Out of the four faculty members, two have already left. There are no teachers for two subjects - Disaster Management and NGO Management. All of this has already made the situation difficult for us, and now we fear of losing jobs in the absence of mark-sheets."

Another student said, "This issue should have been resolved immediately after the first semester. When we asked about the mark-sheets, the authorities told us that there was some technical issue with the documentation due to the centre's autonomous status."

Speaking to mid-day, Dr Balaji Kendre, who holds the additional charge of director of the Rajiv Gandhi Contemporary Centre, said, "As the centre is an autonomous body, we are facing some issues in printing the mark-sheets. The process will be streamlined soon. First, we are trying to solve the problem of lack of teachers. Students shouldn't worry about jobs, because if they get opportunities we'll ensure that they don't lose them. The director has the authority of providing certificates in the absence of mark-sheets."

75
Total number of students in the final year

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