07 June,2011 07:42 AM IST | | Alifiya Khan
Students who completed diploma in engineering from Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth allege deemed university cheated them as they cannot gain admission in regular colleges for degree, say they will approach high court
For over a year now, electronics engineering diploma holder Prannoy Roy has been idling away his time at home. The former student of one of the oldest universities in the city, Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth (TMV) run by the family of freedom fighter Lokmanya Tilak, says he is stuck in this situation because of a fraud done by the institution. Roy, who passed out of TMV in 2010, complained that it was only after completing his course that he realised his diploma was not recognised by other engineering colleges. He is not eligible for admission in any college for further studies, except a few open universities that offer distance education.
Feeling gypped: Students of Tilak Maharashtra Vidyapeeth complain
u00a0that their diploma does not help them gain admission to a degree
course in a regular engineering college, a fact which they learnt only
after passing out. Pic/Jignesh Mistry
Roy is not the only one. About 2,000 students were enrolled in the engineering diploma course started by TMV but later learnt that their diplomas were not approved by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) or the Maharashtra State Board of Technical Education (MSBTE). "Since our diploma doesn't have approvals, all engineering colleges and even the University of Pune have refused us admission. We even approached the Directorate of Technical Education but were told it could not do anything," said Sanket Gandhi, a diploma holder in automobile engineering from TMV.
These students have been knocking on the doors of various government officials for the past year, but they claim neither the TMV nor the government officials have offered them a solution. They have written to the Education Ministry, the technical education departments and even the President, but to no avail. "The only option before us is to either get into open universities through distance education that does not make sense or start all over again from Std XII. But even if we wish to do so, we can't. Our original SSC leaving certificates are with TMV and it refuses to give these to us even after we said we need them for admission," said Zeeshan Sayyed, a computer engineering diploma holder.
Students allege that at the time of admission, they were fooled by the institute into believing that the diploma it offered was valid and would be regularised before they passed out. Parents of affected students said they planned to approach the high court. "They had told us that they had all approvals and only MSBTE was left.
But we were told they would get all that before our children passed out. Now we are fed up and have decided to approach High Court for reprieve," said Pradeep Haldar, father of an affected student Prannoy. "All we want is a letter of equivalence from MSBTE which will make the diplomas of our children valid so that they can get admission in regular colleges." The parents have approached the Mumbai-based NGO Forum for Fairness in Education for help in filing the court case.
'Onus on TMV to resolve issue'
D N Shingade, regional director, Directorate of Technical Education, said the issue should be resolved by TMV. "We understand that students are affected as they won't get admissions in regular engineering courses according to rules. But the onus is on TMV to get them a letter of equivalence from MSBTE if they had been promised (it). In any case, it is the University Grants Commission that has power to take action and not our department," he said.
The Other Side
Deepak Tilak, vice-chancellor of TMV, denied the students' claims, stating they were lying. "They were enrolled in a distance programme and they knew very well their diplomas were not approved by MSBTE. Since we are a deemed university, we don't need these approvals to start the course," said Tilak.
Asked about the validity of these diplomas, Tilak said "they were valid" and students who wish to study further can take admission in Indira Gandhi National Open University centres through distance education mode. On whether the course was still being run in the same manner, he said that TMV had stopped accepting fresh admissions until it got MSBTE approval.
"We have applied for MSBTE approval. It should come this month. If not, this will be the last batch," he said. When it was pointed out that first he had said deemed varsities did not require approvals but now he was applying for permissions, he said it was because of the ruckus by students and not because TMV was doing anything illegal.
