Three from commerce dept shortlisted in Feb left in lurch due to missing HOD signature; since their meeting with the RAC, the students have been frequenting the department week after week to get the signature of the department head for their proposal or topic approval meeting.
MU officials said they will address the matter speedily. FILE PIC
Despite kick-starting their PhD registrations as early as January, commerce students from Mumbai University are stuck in limbo. The three students were shortlisted in February and laid out their proposal before the Research Advisory Committee (RAC) in June, but are unable to move on to the next steps owing to the lack of a single signature.
Since their meeting with the RAC, the students have been frequenting the department week after week to get the signature of the department head for their proposal or topic approval meeting. However, they have been allegedly turned away for over a month without being given any reason.
“I have a six-month-old daughter, and I travel to the Kalina Campus from Navi Mumbai every week. I wait outside the department head’s office for hours together, all for a signature. However, we have been turned away day after day. and we haven’t been given proper reasoning,” said a research aspirant from the department.
“Handling research with motherhood can be tough enough, but this move by the heads comes off as discouraging,” she added. Being an MU alumnus, the student feels at home at the university and hopes to persist through the process. However, the other students are second-guessing their decision.
“I appeared for the exam last November. I am already working for a government Institution and the admission itself has taken so long that I am losing the motivation to pursue my studies. The signing authority refused to accept my proposal, stating that I had not paid the form fee of '100. However, I had already done so, and I have proof of all the documents along with the receipt of the form fee. The mindset of aiding students has been completely missing,” said another student.
Typically, research students have to fill out an admission form after which they are shortlisted by the department and allotted a guide. After this, the students have to lay out their research proposal before an internal RAC, which comprises in-house as well as external experts. Once the proposal is given a go-ahead, the students require their department HOD’s signature, and then the proposal goes to the external Research Recognition Committee (RRC).
“The students remain discouraged because they have had to face such troubles from the get-go. They wonder what future studies at MU may hold if this is the spirit of academic heads,” said a guide from the university. Responding to a mid-day query, the commerce department head responded saying that no due diligence was missed by the department. Taking cognisance of the matter, officials from MU said, “We will look into the disagreement and resolve it speedily, keeping student interests in mind.”
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