Colleges hassle students for university’s goof up

Mumbai: The 30,000-odd final year degree college students of the University of Mumbai (MU) whose results have been withheld and have been marked absent are facing a tough time, as their colleges asking them to bring ‘attendance proof’. However, the MU has issued a circular to all its affiliated colleges, saying that no attendance proof is required to be submitted, as the entire matter is a part of university’s technical error.

“Since the last two days, I have been going back and forth to my examination centre to collect my attendance proof. I have been asked by my college to submit all these details,” said Kunal Parmar, one of the students who has been marked absent. This is not the case of just one student. Around 28,498 students whose results have been reserved have asked to give their attendance proof by their respective colleges.

“My college has even asked me not to leave Mumbai until the entire matter has been resolved and my results are declared,” said another student.

Meanwhile, the Controller of Examinations, Dr Arjun Ghatule, slammed the colleges’ actions saying, “The absent mark and results being reserved is absolutely on us and by us. No students or any colleges is involved which means they do not have any role in this entire saga.”

The reason these students have been marked ‘absent’ or put on ‘reserve’ is because their papers were misplaced. “Misplaced does not mean lost, it has just been misplaced into either other system or has not been evaluated. We will declare all these results as soon as we get hold of these papers,” Mr Ghatule said.

MU will reportedly search all these misplaced papers through ‘venue codes’ as the seat numbers are hidden under barcode in the answer papers. “Students just need to calm down and wait patiently. All they need to do is wait for their results to come out,” said Devanand Shinde, new acting vice-chancellor of MU.