SPPU to resolve blocked PRN issue by October-end

On October 12, a group of students met SPPU Pro Vice-Chancellor Parag Kalkar and submitted a memorandum demanding urgent action

puneletters@hindustantimes.com

They cited personal, financial, and health-related issues that had delayed their academic progress and warned that blocked PRNs could lead to irreversible loss. (HT)

Thousands of students from colleges affiliated with Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) across Pune, Ahmednagar, and Nashik are facing academic uncertainty after their Permanent Registration Numbers (PRNs) were blocked. The action affected those who couldn’t complete their degrees within the stipulated time, barring them from filling exam forms, applying for admissions, or accessing results and degree certificates.

On October 12, a group of students met SPPU Pro Vice-Chancellor Parag Kalkar and submitted a memorandum demanding urgent action. They cited personal, financial, and health-related issues that had delayed their academic progress and warned that blocked PRNs could lead to irreversible loss.

Kalkar assured students that the matter would be addressed sympathetically. Following this, the university’s Examination and Evaluation Board has initiated steps toward a resolution.

Prabhakar Desai, Director of the Board of Examinations and Evaluation, said a final decision will be taken by October 31. “The board has recommended extending PRN validity, especially for final-year students, and the proposal has been forwarded to the competent authority,” he said.

Desai added that the proposal is being reviewed as per University Grants Commission (UGC) norms and guidelines from other academic bodies. “A detailed circular will be issued by October 31, 2025,” he confirmed.

Students have been advised to follow only official university communications and not to rely on social media posts or unauthorised agents. “SPPU maintains a complete internal student database. No external individual is authorised to act on the university’s behalf,” the university clarified.

SPPU introduced the credit system in 2019–20 for arts, commerce, and science streams, fully implemented by 2021–22. As the 2019 batch reaches the end of its academic cycle, many students risk losing years of effort, something the university is now trying to prevent.