MiD DAY employee gets copy of grandpa's 100-year-old certificate from UK university in just 3 days for free;
MU will take 21 days for his 10-year-old certificate
MiD DAY employee gets copy of grandpa's 100-year-old certificate from UK university in just 3 days for free; MU will take 21 days for his 10-year-old certificate
When Neville Bastawala, marketing head at MiD DAY, decided to ask the University of Glasgow (GU) in the UK, for a copy of his late grandfather's civil engineering certificate dating 100 years back, he was prepared for a long wait, a lengthy procedure and exorbitant fees.
After all, University of Mumbai is notorious for such things. Instead, Bastawala was in for a pleasant surprise. He received a copy of the certificates for free just three days and a click of a mouse later.
Efficient GU
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surprise! Neville Bastawala with his grandfather's University of Glasgow certificate outside Mumbai University. |
"I had heard many tales of my grandfather Ratanshah Rustomjee Bastawala and was keen to know more about him.
So, I e-mailed the GU for his engineering certificate from 1908 and even offered to pay the requisite fee, " said Bastawala, who got a reply from GU the following day.
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The mail said his request had been passed on to the Archives department. Two days later, the duty archivist at GU e-mailed him the scanned copies of his grandfather's marksheet and admission forms that he had filled in his own handwriting in 1908. "GU gave our family something invaluable," added Bastawala.
MU not there yetAttempting something similar at Mumbai University is bound to give you a headache (see box). When Bastawala enquired about getting a copy of his 10-year-old management certificate, he was told it entailed a long procedure and would take 21 days.
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Though it was founded 300 years after GU, it has not reached the same level technologically. The GU was founded in 1451 whereas Mumbai University was established in 1857.
Vilas Shinde, controller of examinations at the University of Mumbai, said, "The legalities for foreign universities are different than ours. Our university is not that advanced.
Most of the employees are not familiar with computers. We have just begun computerising certificates, but only those issued since 2007."
Tedious procedure at MUAt the Mumbai University, if you need a duplicate copy of your passing certificate for any degree, you need to buy a form that costs Rs 370 and submit it to the university.
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If you've lost your original certificate, you need to file a police complaint, get an affidavit for Rs 50 and submit it with the form. You are promised your copy in three weeks time.
If you need a copy of someone else's certificate, then the process is even more tedious. After a fake certificate scam was busted in 2007, the University has made the rules even stricter to prevent fraudsters from taking advantage of this facility.
