Marks mess at varsity

Marksheets serve as documentary evidence of academic credentials. Their importance cannot be overstated in a country that has seen controversies rage over the academic qualification of various ministers, even as the education system faces the challenge of reaching out to the vast numbers and ensuring quality as well. There have been rows over forged marksheets in universities across the country. Such malpractices show how crucial these documents are for a student’s career in the face of cut-throat competition and the pressure to do well.

Haryana had earlier been in the news for the son of a senior university teacher allegedly being shown undue favours and now comes the news about the failure of Indira Gandhi University (IGU) to provide detailed marks certificate (DMC) to 50,000 students in various undergraduate and postgraduate courses run by 130 private, government and aided degree and education colleges in Rewari and Mahendragarh districts. The Vice-Chancellor (VC) has found that the DMCs have not been printed for the last three years due to issues with a private printing agency.

The university was set up in 2013, while the affiliation to these institutes was granted in 2017. The VC has said he was new to the job and efforts were on to print and give the students their marksheets. That the university is hamstrung due to resource constraints is obvious, but what is not clear is whether the problems existed even earlier or after the granting of affiliation to these institutes, which must have put a lot of pressure on the infrastructure. The fact that a crucial task like printing marksheets can get stuck in the absence of a printer is a blot on the education system. The thrust on education in Haryana’s districts that fall under the National Capital Region should not be impeded by irritants.