Hyderabad: PhD scholars from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) were in for a shock when they got turned down in job interviews for the most horrifying of reasons: Their certs were invalid. The interviewers pointed out to them that they do not comply with the UGC regulations they are bound to follow because the administration didn’t bother to ensure it.
It takes years of work to earn the degree, and in this case, all that for nothing unless the university now retrospectively finds a way to sort out their own lapse of duty.
Take the case of G Sreekala, a scholar who finished her research at the Department of Communication of UoH. A 2018 passout, she applied for a job at the University of Himachal Pradesh and submitted her certificates during the interview only to be told they don’t comply with UGC regulations.
“It was in the interview that I came to know my doctoral certificate does not state whether it was issued in compliance with UGC regulations (2009), which are bound to be followed,” tells Sreekala.
The UGC regulations (2009) stipulate that students require a minimum of 12 credits to get a doctoral degree. Sreekala does have enough credits from her pre-PhD courses, but they weren’t added to her total marks, as the results papers never made it to the registrar’s office.
The UoH deputy registrar told Sreekala that her doctoral degree/certificate is not valid because her file showed only 8 credits.
And he rubbed it in: “He said all of this was my fault; I’d been ignorant. When the university doesn’t make an effort to keep its students in the know regarding the technicalities, should we be guessing it by ourselves?” Sreekala sighs.
As it turns out, this isn’t a stray issue. In fact, as per what the deputy registrar told Sreekala verbally, there are several others who are trapped in similar situations, all of them belonging to the arts and social sciences departments.
However, none of them was willing to speak to Deccan Chronicle for fear of repercussions from the UoH admin. “Many students do not want to come forward because of the fear that there could be repercussions or in the hope that all of this could be rectified soon,” she says.
“I too could have found an easy way out, but the thing is, unless somebody makes this an issue, it will continue to ruin many scholars’ careers,” says Sreekala.
The new rule has made it almost impossible for researchers like her to attend interviews because the UoH administration is not willing to issue the regulations certificate.
Bizarrely, the varsity administration maintains that they do not have any documents to prove that Sreekala’s batch passed the Advanced Research course, as their respective departments never sent any communication in this regard in 2014. They say the lapse was by the departments; they did not hand over the required paperwork on time.
The departments are equally befuddled regarding the paper trail. For what seems to be a lapse either from the university administration, or the Department of Communication, now the students are to suffer for.
However, on account of Sreekala’s complaints, the department later did send documents for result notification to the Controller of Examiner's office in November last year, but it was rejected for the delay in submission. Subsequently, it was forwarded to vice-chancellor Appa Rao Podile for approval.
After it turned out to be an issue faced by many students, a committee has been now formed to look into the matter. As intimated by the university spokesperson Prof. Vinod Pavarala, the committee has submitted its report recommending regularisation of such cases with retrospective effect.
Once the VC approves this, the same will be intimated soon to the Departments/Schools and the students concerned.
