The demand for stricter action has gained more momentum after students and teachers heard the news that Dr Sanjay Deshmukh now intends to go back to his earlier position of a professor
Dr Sanjay Deshmukh is the first-ever vice-chancellor of Mumbai University to be sacked, but according to students and professors, this is not punishment enough for the man who "single-handedly" ruined an entire academic year for them.
A protest held outside Mumbai University's Fort campus, demanding Dr Sanjay Deshmukh's resignation. File pics
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The demand for stricter action has gained even more momentum after they heard the news that Deshmukh now intends to go back to his earlier role of a professor of Life Sciences at the university.
The fall from grace
Deshmukh has been surrounded by controversy because of his decision to introduce the faulty online On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for exam evaluation. The system's glitches delayed results for months and also resulted in error-riddled mark sheets for many, leading to further hold-up as students waited for re-evaluation.
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Dr Sanjay Deshmukh
After a review report of the OSM system revealed all the mistakes, Governor of Maharashtra Ch Vidyasagar Rao, in his capacity as the chancellor of all state universities, asked Deshmukh to resign. However, when Deshmukh failed to submit his resignation, the governor sacked him.
Dr Devanand Shinde is currently in charge as VC, even as a search committee has been formed to make the final appointment for the post.
Too little, too late
Sachin Pawar, president of the Students' Law Council, said, "The governor's decision is welcome. It surely will control the damage further. But how will the government compensate for students' academic loss, and the mental and financial harassment they suffered?"
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"Many students are still stuck in the chaos of lost answer sheets. Several courses' admissions are not over yet. Teaching has been affected to a great extent, with seven days being declared non-instructional, in order to complete evaluation," said a senior professor from MU.
The professor added, "Because of the delay in results, lakhs of students have had to take a year's break — especially those who wanted to go abroad or to other universities for higher education. Thousands are stuck waiting for re-evaluation, as their low marks leave them with fewer options for further studies. All this is just because of a few decisions taken by one person alone. When students have suffered so much, why should the VC be given such an easy escape?"
Not one of the profs
Meanwhile, Deshmukh is reported to have sent an application to the Life Sciences department, intimating that he intends to resume his earlier position of a professor once the Diwali break ends. This information has left teachers smarting with indignation, as they do not consider Deshmukh one of them anymore, not after he blamed them for the delayed results.
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"We have been demanding his removal for so long, but the government never paid heed to our warnings. In fact, it was made to look like the teachers were sabotaging the OSM process. Professors never opposed the system, but everyone raised concerns over how it was implemented," shared an office-bearer from the Bombay University and College Teachers' Union.
"Most of us began assessment only after June, which usually begins by April. Even now, the varsity and state government remain stubborn about continuing with On-Screen Marking for the next exam season. But there is no training workshop yet, or any streamlining of the system. And after all this, will the old VC be completely thorough while participating in OSM as a professor? All this while he had blamed the professors," the source added.
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