Students now have to approach their colleges with applications to correct mistakes on certificates, but the university did not inform either students or institutes about the change in procedure
Mumbai University may have witnessed several smiling faces during the recently held convocation, but the smiles have been wiped off the faces of many students who have either not got their degrees yet or have received certificates riddled with errors. What’s worse, these students are now being led on a wild goose chase by the university, which has simply shrugged off responsibility and has asked the students to approach their colleges instead.
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Engineering graduate Nilesh Chavan was proud to receive his certificate, until he realised it had reduced his score from a first class with distinction to just first class
Colleges, on the other hand, protest that they haven’t received any information about this and they can’t possibly make corrections in certificates that are issued by the varsity. All the while, students’ plans for higher education hang in the balance.
Omkar Pimple from Ramrao Adik Institute of Technology did not even receive a certificate. Although he has already found a job, the deadline to submit the certificate is quickly approaching. On the other hand, Nilesh Chavan, who completed a Bachelors programme in engineering from Watumull Institute, received his degree with great pride, until he realised that his impressive score of first class with distinction had been downgraded to just first class in the certificate. “I took great efforts to get such a good score, so why shouldn’t I have it on my certificate? When I approached university they asked me to go to the college, but the college is unaware of any such procedure. I want to apply to universities abroad but can’t do that without the correct certificate,” said Nilesh.
Rishikesh Kanukale, who completed the electronics and telecommunication course at AC Patil College got his certificate last week, only to realise his name had been spelt wrong. “When I went to university they asked me to approach the college. But the college seemed clueless, so I returned to the university, which clarified that there had been changes in the procedure, and the college has accepted my application,” said the student.
University speak
It is uncertain as to what the point is in asking students to approach their colleges, as the applications are eventually forwarded to the university anyway. According to MU’s controller of examinations, Deepak Wasave, some certificates might not have been given out due to technical problems, but regarding the incorrect certificates, he added, “We had sent students’ data to respective colleges before printing the certificates. Colleges were given an entire month to respond. These mistakes are due to the carelessness of the colleges, so we want them to forward the applications to us, and we will fine them for the errors.”
However, the university has failed to inform colleges about this change, leading to great confusion and inconvenience for students. To this, Wasave said a circular will soon be sent to the colleges to inform them of the new procedure.