So what if Mumbai University missed its third deadline for results? Why blame it when it's been decades since anyone took it seriously?
A protest at Mumbai University's Kalina campus over the delay in results. File pic
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I was a student of the University of Bombay for a long time. I don't look upon that period of my life with fondness because, like millions of students before and after me, there has never been much to look forward to in any of its buildings. Don't take my word for it though; take a walk through its sprawling, haphazard campus any day of the week and see for yourself. Stop by any of the classrooms, peek into the bathrooms, if you dare, or better still, try engaging any member of the administrative staff for some help on how you can apply for a degree.
The careers of over 4 lakh students are at risk this year, after Mumbai University skipped a number of deadlines for announcing results. Of the 477 courses offered, the results of 212 examinations were yet to be declared by August 5. According to media reports, many answer sheets were pending evaluation. Naturally, university officials blame technological glitches because, as everyone who has ever dealt with the highly educated men and women who manage the place knows, there is never any room for human error when things go wrong. Admission processes in most colleges are already complete, which means thousands of graduating students may simply have to suspend their careers for a year.
One of the university's respected faculty members recently described it as a spineless system run by stooges. He referred to the awful condition of the libraries, its inability to pay bills, the poor state of its hostels, low funds for research, and lack of housing facilities for the staff. The people who run the university aren't bothered, of course, because they understand the fact that these glaring problems are less important than the need to open offshore campuses in Dubai and the United States. There was even an amusing 'world tour' mentioned earlier this year, in order to set up a campus in America.
I think it's unfair of us to blame the university though, because no one I know has ever expected it to be efficient on any front. Try calling any of its helplines, for instance. Do it for a laugh. Try any department, or the office, or drop by any of the 100-odd rooms on campus for help with anything related to any degree, and gauge for yourself if this is an institution that takes education seriously. The fact that no one has been sacked for ruining the lives of thousands of students is proof of how seriously the government takes the place too.
The National Institutional Ranking Framework recently ranked universities, management, medical and technical institutes on the basis of teaching and learning resources, outreach, graduation outcome, inclusivity, research work and perception. MU was placed somewhere between 151 and 200. Apparently, university officials were disappointed with the results but couldn't really explain why their performance was so dismal. They could ask any of their students for clues, if they chose to, but the only time the university listens to its students is when the latter happen to be children of influential politicians trying to get some attention by banning a book or something.
There was a time when the university was not the decrepit, rundown, depressing place it is now, when qualified teachers still roamed its corridors and education was more important for its managers than photo-ops with politicians or study tours that yielded nothing tangible. The fact that it refuses to acknowledge how deeply the rot has set in shows it may never climb to those heights again, which will be a tragedy for everyone who was once proud of a degree awarded by the institution.
Maybe we should relieve MU of its misery at some point and encourage our children to study elsewhere, preferably at places that value education, encourage and support great teachers, and pick managers on the basis of merit rather than political leanings. We should encourage our children to study at places that value them as students, and realise that they exist because of the students, not despite the presence of them.
Or maybe we should abandon the idea of higher education entirely. Our government doesn't take education seriously anyway, and we live in a country where being educated has nothing to do with being put in charge of the education system itself. In fact, it is often people who don't bother getting an education at all that end up running our country of a billion people.
When he isn't ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira. Send your feedback to mailbag@mid-day.com
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