Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday admitted that Mumbai University (MU) has failed to declare results within the stipulated time and blamed the online paper evaluation system which he said was adopted without any preparation. Mr Fadnavis said he was hopeful the results would be declared by August 5 as assured by the education department.
The inordinate delay in declaring the results of many exams has affected a large number of MU students. Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar raised the issue in the Assembly, criticising the functioning of the university.
In his reply, Mr Fadnavis said, “The university has adopted online evaluation method of papers due to which the results were delayed. The system was adopted completely instead of in phases and hence the valuer is also taking time. I was told that out of 17.5 lakh papers, 14 lakh have been checked. But unless all the papers of a particular subject are valued, the results cannot be declared.”
He further added, “So far, results of 177 examinations are out. The governor himself is observing the situation and has given time till August 5 to declare the results. This will not affect other exams. Also the students going abroad would get their mark sheets by August 15. It is true that the university could not perform due to the changes. But required measures will be taken in future.”
Mr Pawar said that the varsity has “ruined” its name and the delay in declaring results is affecting students as their careers are at stake.
Probe against V-C for the result mess
The state higher education department on Tuesday announced a probe and promised to take action against those responsible including Vice-Chancellor of MU for failure to apply for its re-accreditation in time. At present, the university is under attack over the delay in declaring the results. Congress MLC Ramhari Rupnawar raised the issue about the Mumbai university losing its Grade A accreditation from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) in April. Mr Rupnawar also asked about whether any action would be taken against the officials responsible for it. “An action will be taken, after an inquiry, against those people who are responsible for not securing accreditation for the university,” said Ravindra Waikar, minister of state for Higher and Technical Education, in reply to a question on the issue in legislative council. The grade defines the quality status of an institute based on its performance, curriculum, evaluation, faculty and infrastructure. When the legislators asked whether action will be taken against the V-C, Mr Waikar said, “If the vice chancellor of the university is found at fault, then action will be taken against him through chancellor.” Mr Waikar further told the council the varsity will apply for the accreditation between November 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017.
Problems faced by students
- Lost opportunity of applying to any foreign university.
- No university within India, apart from MU are allowing students to enrol their name.
- Students who planned to pursue Masters’ after their graduation are stuck because of the delay.
- MU introduced ‘help desk’ on July 31 for students to get their temporary mark sheet. However, students are uninformed about such a facility being provided.
