1,500 students’ careers on the line as MU withholds their final year results

More than 1,500 students from various colleges affiliated to University of Mumbai (MU) are grappling with uncertainty as they await their final year results, which the university declared between July and August 2023 but has withheld them since then for issues over their eligibility.
The prolonged delay has left many of the students either unemployed or facing the imminent threat of losing their jobs.
One such student, who had passed from Yadavrao Tasgaonkar College in Karjat, was taken aback last August when he discovered that although his results had been announced, he had not received any official documents to substantiate them.
Upon checking the online portal of MU, the student, who is now working as an engineer, found that a cryptic abbreviation ‘RPV’ (provisionally eligible) was appended to his roll number. “When I approached the college about this issue, I was assured that there was no cause for concern and that our results would be released imminently,” he said,
Expressing similar sentiments, another student lamented, “Seven months have passed since the declaration of our results, but we are still oblivious to our individual marks.”
Exasperated by the lack of clarity, 90 students from Yadavrao Tasgaonkar College approached the college and the university but were denied relief.
As per rules, colleges are mandated to submit students’ eligibility documents to the university for validation. However, several institutions faltered in meeting this requirement in 2023, prompting MU to levy a penalty of ₹10,000 per student. However, many colleges have not paid the fines.
Upon exhausting all avenues at the college level, the aggrieved students sought intervention from the university. Recounting their interaction with an official from the university’s examination department, a student said, “We were informed that until the college settled the outstanding penalties, our documents could not be processed.”
Students then sought the assistance of a local Shiv Sena leader and secretary, Vaibhav Thorat. On Monday, Thorat penned a letter to MU vice chancellor Ravindra Kulkarni, urging the university to resolve the impasse. Thorat highlighted the adverse impact of withholding results on the students’ academic and professional prospects.
Thorat said students from other institutions, including Dilkap Research Institute of Engineering and Management Studies in Karjat and G V Acharya Institute of Engineering & Technology College in Shelu had also been penalised by MU for delay in submission of documents. “The cumulative tally of affected students stands at approximately 1,500.”
When contacted, an MU official said, “We will take appropriate action in this case.”