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Punjabi University: No convocation since 2015
A varsity officials says poor planning and ongoing financial crisis are restricting the management from organising convocation, V-C says may organise one in March
The wait to receive degrees at a formal convocation is getting longer for the topper passouts of the Punjabi University, Patiala. The varsity has failed to organise the annual convocation since the last four years.
The failure of the university management in making convocation an annual affair in these past years has left students, mainly the PhD passouts, a harried lot. Many of them have collected their degrees in absentia from the examination branch of the university after paying a fee of ₹ 1,000.
The university had organised its 38th convocation in 2015, in which degrees, university medals and degrees of doctor of philosophy (PhD) were conferred on more than 400 students. As per university norms, besides all PhD passouts, toppers of MPhil, postgraduation and undergraduation academic courses should be awarded degrees during the annual convocation.
A senior officials, pleading anonymity, said that poor planning and the ongoing financial crisis in the university are restricting the officials from organising convocation.
“The university comes up with new excuses every time to avoid holding a convocation,” he said.
A faculty member, on condition of anonymity, said that it is a sad state of affairs on part of the university management. “They have failed to make convocation an annual affair in these past years,” the faculty member added.
“The PhD students put in so much hard work for around seven years to complete their research projects and thesis before clearing their viva voce. These students deserve to be honoured during the annual convocation ceremony,” another faculty member said.
A professor said that these moments are rare in a student’s life, be it a PhD research scholar or a postgraduation or undergraduation student. “It seems that the university authorities are delaying the convocation claiming that they did not get dates from top politicians or bureaucrats,” he said.
Ranjit Singh, a PhD passout, said that he had completed his PhD back in 2016 and had waited for a convocation for years before collecting the degree in 2019 in absentia by paying the fee.
“The university should organise the annual convocation as this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for students to bear the fruit of their hard work,” he said.
Vice-chancellor BS Ghuman said that they had planned to organise a convocation early last year, but it was first postponed due to some unavoidable reasons.
“We are hoping to organise a convocation for research scholars and toppers of academic courses in March this year. We are synchronising the dates, following which a final schedule will be declared,” Ghuman said.
