Law students suffer while Mumbai University, colleges play blame game

Final year law students are in a tizzy, what with the last date for applying for All India Bar Examination (AIBE) that will get them the certificate to practise or ‘Sanad’ drawing near and the university yet to dispatch their marksheets. While university officials maintain that marksheets have been sent, colleges are refuting the claim saying they are being made scapegoats for the university’s lackadaisical approach and forced to face the students’ ire.

Student Ajay Bade (name changed) said that the marksheet has to be submitted while applying for AIBE. “Without the marksheet, we will not be able to apply for the exam and may have to wait for a semester to appear for the exam. Till then, we will not be able to start our practice or even take up jobs in legal firms as advocates,” he said. The last date for applying for AIBE is February 15 and students do not want to miss the chance to appear for an already postponed exam.

The Bar Council of India (BCI) was earlier supposed to conduct the AIBE IX 2015 on December 13 but the date was extended to March 6, 2016.

Another student Jyoti Nadir (name changed) said that colleges and the university were passing the buck and not giving a date when marksheets would be given to them. “When we go to our college, they tell us that the university is yet to dispatch the marksheet to them and when we go to the examination section of the university, we are told that the marksheet will be sent soon. As the last date for applying for the exam draws near, we are afraid of losing out,” she said.

Asked about the same on Saturday, in-charge controller of examination Deepak Wasave said that the marksheets had been dispatched to colleges and students could collect them on Monday.

“There was a minor delay in sending the marksheets but that has been sorted out and colleges have received the marksheets for distribution,” he said.

Colleges, however, denied receiving marksheets and blamed the university of covering up by putting the onus on them.

“It is 5 pm and we have still not received the marksheets. Students will line up on Monday morning and when we tell them that marksheets have not been received, they will vent their anger on us rather than understanding the situation. We are being made scapegoats,” said the principal of a suburban college.

Meanwhile, Mr Wasave assured that if colleges have not received marksheets till Saturday evening, the same would be delivered to them by Monday.