Students smell a rat in demand for Mumbai varsity V-C’s scalp
Anxiety and disappointment filled students after the prolonged delay by Mumbai University (MU) in declaring their results. It’s over two months now that the results are due, still over 200 results are yet to be declared. Youth wings of political parties have now entered the protest arena either to voice out their opinion or to create an imprint for the upcoming senate elections of the university.
Some political protesters didn’t know the problem
Students claimed that some political members who were protesting outside the university campus at Kalina and Fort did not even know why they were protesting. A student said, “The protesters were voicing slogans, raising placards and banners but did not know the actual problem that we were facing. They were keen about the resignation of the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) of the MU rather than demanding our results on time.”
Political stunt for senate elections of MU
Political youth wings like Yuva Sena, ABVP, NSUI, MNVS and from NCP have been protesting over the issue. A student added, “We are grateful that the political parties are raising our issue, supporting us, gaining media attention and also taking this matter up to the higher hierarchy of political officials. But somewhere at the ground level, all of it seems like a political stunt wherein the parties want the limelight for the upcoming senate elections of the university. It is strange as suddenly all political parties are protesting and demanding the resignation of the V-C.”
Results are important than resignation of V-C
The results are delayed due to the new On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for assessing the papers online. This process was introduced this year under the leadership of Sanjay Deshmukh, the vice-chancellor of the MU. One student claimed, “More than who is responsible for this mess we are concerned about getting our results on time so that we can move ahead in our career. For us, the university as a whole has played with our lives and jeopardised our future. What is the guarantee that a new VC or official will not come out with such an initiative in the future?”
V-C won’t resign till all results are out: Experts
Amidst the uproar for resignation of the V-C for this unprecedented haste, education experts stated that probably the state government is trying to protect the V-C. An education expert said, “The political authorities will not let the V-C resign till all the results are declared. Now that the he is in office, the government and every body for that matter has someone to blame and point a finger at it. If the V-C steps down now, there will be no one left to blame and moreover nobody will even know how to go about the process of declaring the results.”
Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor has closed his doors for any media interaction for over a month, making the clamour for his resignation louder.
Sachin Pawar, president of Student Law Council, said, “MU, education department and state government should accept responsibility for this mess. The state government is trying to protect the vicechancellor but this may give a free hand for such reckless situations which are likely to be repeated in future.”