Mumbai: With the Mumbai University (MU) having missed three deadlines, and 1.5 lakh Commerce and Law answer sheets yet to be evaluated, members of the Students Federation of India (SFI) on Friday carried out a novel protest by shaving their heads at the university’s Kalina campus.
The SFI members demanded prompt declaration of results, re-evaluation of answer sheets for free, and the resignation of the MU officials responsible for jeopardising the future of lakhs of students. The protest was carried out after the university missed the third deadline of August 15.
“The Education Minister has granted leave to the officials responsible for resolving the glitches in the online assessment system, and now there is no definite answer as to when the results will be declared,” said Rameshwar Shere, Mumbai district secretary of SFI. The student’s organisation also demanded the resignation of Education Minister Vinod Tawde and Vice-Chancellor Sanjay Deshmukh.
Rupali Jadhav, a third-year commerce student from NSS College, Tardeo, said, “I am scared and angry as this seriously affects my job applications. I don’t understand why there is such a delay, despite knowing the faults in online assessment.”
Shamina Sheikh from SIES College got her result on July 31, but cannot submit her BEd form as other students are yet to receive theirs.
“The declaration of results has been slow, as they only release individual results randomly rather than of a subject altogether. Results for BMM, BMS, and BCom haven’t been declared. Almost all results for BSc (IT) have been declared, but for a few students they appear as ‘pending’. The university needs to fix its ways of functioning,” said Amrin Moger, women’s head for Chhatra Bharti, an organisation which represents students.
Deputy Registrar Leeladhar Bansode told The Hindu he was out of town, and said 1,52,149 answer sheets still have to be corrected. “I cannot ascertain the date when all results and mark sheets will be given,” Mr. Bansode said.
