Mumbai university students express concerns over delayed degree certificates

Many Mumbai University graduates are still waiting for their degree certificates. There are students from the batches of 2020 and 2021 who are yet to be recognised as graduates and receive their degree certificates. Students believe that their future is jeopardised due to delayed university degrees.

Students are concerned about misplaced certificates or certificates with mistakes in spelling, or marks. For any such issue, students are supposed to submit a letter regarding the problem, and the university is supposed to resolve the matter and correct the error as soon as possible.

"I submitted a letter to the university for a spelling mistake on my degree certificate, and was told to come back in a month," said Partim Bhandugare, a Bcom graduate from the 2021 batch.

"Even after a month, the error was still not corrected, and I was told to come back again. I have lost job opportunities as a result of this process. Imagine, I graduated in 2021 and am still ineligible for the job, despite the fact that I did nothing wrong, "he added.

Students have approached their colleges about the delayed degree certificates, but have been told that they have not received certificates from the university, or that they must collect them by visiting the university (Kalina Campus). Niyati Shah, a 2020 batch student from a Mumbai Universityaffiliated college, said, "I am yet to receive my degree certificate. Previously, I was asked to collect my degree certificate from the university, and after many visits, I had to submit new documents every time, and I was asked to come back again and again. It's been two years, and I'm still not sure when I'll get my certificate."

Several students recently received their final semester mark sheets. Colleges claim that the university has not provided certificates, however university authorities assert that after the convocation, they have sent degree certificates to the respective colleges and courses. Many students have struggled to receive their certifications in the midst of all of these complicated processes since their degree was at the stake. Another graduate student, Tanaya Deole, stated, "After three years of absolute struggle, I finally received my degree certificate this month. At the university, all I was told was that this wasn't enough, go home and get this and come again."

Officials from the Mumbai University told The Free Press Journal that certificates are sometimes delayed due to RLE marking or other marks issues that take time. For the same issue, a letter has been written to the Mumbai University Vice Chancellor by the Senate Member Vaibhav Thorat. "For the students who have lost their jobs because of this issue, the university should take the responsibility, or find an alternative to resolve the issue as soon as possible," said Vaibhav Thorat.