This is cheating, says OHRC on college that didn’t issue certificates to students

The Odisha Human Rights Commission ordered the police to file a FIR against the private engineering college and asked the technical education regulator and university to consider withdrawing its approvals

Published on: Jul 29, 2022, 10:18:42 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The Odisha Human Rights Commission (OHRC) has ordered the state police to file a first information report (FIR) case against a private engineering college that hasn’t issued final certificates and mark sheets to 400 students who cleared their final exams three years ago.

The Odisha Human Rights Commission ordered police to file FIR against a private engineering college that hasn’t issued certificates to 400 students who passed out three years aho (OHRC website)

“This is an act of cheating, misappropriation of funds of the large numbers of students and playing hide and seek by the college authority. These type(s) of institutions should not be permitted to continue and the students also should not be harassed due to non-issuance of final degree certificates after depositing required fees with the college. The officer-in-charge of Pahala police station should treat this order as FIR and register (a) case and take appropriate action against the persons responsible,” the commission said in its interim order issued on Tuesday on a complaint against Eastern Academy of Science and Technology in Phulnakhara area of Cuttack.

It was alleged that the institute did not issue certificates to at least 438 students enrolled for B.Tech who cleared their exams in 2018-19.

The Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), to which the college is affiliated, told the commission that the college hasn’t collected the degree certificates, grade sheets and provisional certificates of the students from the university by depositing the requisite fees.

“The commission is of the view that the acts amount to clear cheating by the college authorities. Therefore, appropriate action is required to be taken against the college including the principal and the persons in charge of management for commission of offences of cheating and misappropriation of funds,” OHRC said.

The commission also asked the university and All India Council for Technical Education to take a decision on de-recognition and de-affiliation of the college.

Lawyer for the students, Biswapriya Kanungo said the university told the human rights panel that since 2016-17, nearly 11,000 certificates of students from 135 colleges who passed out were yet to be given. “Once a student passes out, it is the duty of the college and the university to give certificates to the students. BPUT should also be hauled up for the failure,” said Kanungo.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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