MU grants one-time carry-on facility to engg students with backlog

A circular issued by Mumbai University states, “This will be only a one time measure applicable for the academic year 2023-24. All students taking up the facility will have to clear the backlog papers in the upcoming winter session of the exam. Continuation of their academics for the next semester of the respective academic year will be subject to clearing the backlog of papers in the winter session. Otherwise, their admission will be cancelled.”

Several students with backlog have been demanding for a special carry-on facility for this academic year, pointing at delay in starting of the academic session and result declaration. According to these students, even as results are expected to be announced within 45 days of the examination, some results, including those of the Allowed To Keep Term (ATKT) papers, took almost 150 days to be declared, causing confusion and leading to the possibility of many of them missing an entire academic year.

Students with a backlog of papers from the first year had raised this issue in September with a demand for a carry-on facility. Earlier this week, final year students with a backlog from the second year of their course too raised the same demand. The Indian Express’s Campus Talk had earlier reported about students’ demands.

Yuva Sena, the youth wing of Shiv Sena, had written to the administration of the Mumbai University flagging the concern, stating that the Savitribai Phule Pune University and the Punyashlok Ahilyadevi Holkar Solapur University have already approved such a facility.

Sachin Pawar, a member of the Yuva Sena, said, “MU’s decision is a major relief to the students facing a backlog, who started their course amid the pandemic. Apart from the impact on academics, they had to transition from MCQ papers to a regular subjective examinations post Covid, leading to considerable failures. They deserved one chance as a special measure.”