Pune: As many as one lakh students and professionals hoping to complete their degree courses , which they had previously left midway, are unable to fill up examination forms, because their permanent registration number (PRN) with the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) is locked. Some of these scholars are engineering students, who have passed their first, second, and third years earlier — but while colleges have even admitted them to the fourth year, many are unable to complete the process now, which they fear could now lead to academic setbacks. On Friday, several students from Pune, Nashik, and Ahmednagar-based colleges affiliated to SPPU gathered at the exam department to request unlocking of PRNs .
They said the New Education Policy (NEP) 2020 also has a provision for an ‘anytime entry and exit' rule for degree courses. They added that a similar provision was made last year by SPPU for 1.28 lakh students, after special permission was taken from the University Grants Commission (UGC).
Following the airing of these concerns, the varsity administration said that they await a final nod from UGC to give the students a chance, after which the latter and colleges will be notified. One of the candidates, Tejas Shelke, told TOI, "As per UGC stipulations, students are required to pass degree exams within a predetermined timeframe. However, the university or colleges neglected to apprise us of this crucial information.
Now, many have completed just their first and second years, while some have only their final year pending. But we are all unable to complete filling out the exam forms . Had students been informed of the rules, we would have successfully passed exams within the stipulated timeframe and obtained our degrees.
" Joint secretary of Yuva Sena Maharashtra, Kalpesh Yadav, said, "Many scholars from SPPU-affiliated educational institutions were unable to complete undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) exams within the allotted duration. So, the exam department has restricted access to their PRNs. In the preceding year, SPPU liaised with UGC and extended two exam opportunities to students whose PRN numbers were blocked.
This year as well, we have requested the same." Under NEP, students are not obligated to complete UG or PG courses in a single continuous timeframe. They have the flexibility to sit for exams in phases, as per their convenience, to obtain degrees.
If this provision is incorporated, this year's students can also be granted more chances. After Friday's gathering, a statement issued by the SPPU exam department said, "Students with canceled PRNs will get two more chances to take exams in the academic year 2024-25, those with backlogs. According to equivalence, university exams can be taken in Oct/Nov 2024 and March/April 2025.
Colleges should ensure that no eligible student is deprived of exams due to lack of session completion." Last year, the university gave 1,28,000 students the same fresh chance. Of these, 85,000 appeared for exams, and some 35,000 passed, preventing academic loss.
Exam department in-charge at SPPU, Mahesh Kakde, on Friday told TOI that the varsity has appealed to UGC to allow students to take up the exam and complete their degrees. "The UGC has ruled that only candidates who have failed in one or two subjects are eligible to apply for exams. UGC has denied any allowance to candidates that have completely dropped an entire year.
On Friday, we unlocked PRNs of 8,000 candidates, who had backlogs. A further decision regarding the candidates who have lost an entire year will be taken by the academic council.".
