BENGALURU: While the Karnataka State Open University (KSOU) may have got back its recognition from the UGC a few days ago, it has brought no cheer to students. Reason? For those students who studied under KSOU around 2013 – when affiliation was cancelled – their degrees are not considered valid despite the recognition. This has left several former students on tenterhooks.
Take the case of Fayaz Doddamane, who enrolled himself to a Masters degree in political science back in 2013, the year KSOU lost its recognition. “I passed my first year and had just started my second year when we were told that our course was invalid. We staged a protest in Freedom Park as well. There were around 200 students at that time who were all troubled. However, nothing happened,” he says.
Fayaz wanted to pursue a PhD after his MA but was not able to do so. “I even wrote the NET exam in my second year. I was interested in taking up teaching but all plans went down the drain. For the past two years I have been struggling to get a job,” adds Fayaz, who has since moved to Mangaluru where he is working as an English trainer.
Girish K S, another student of KSOU from the city completed his BA in psychology between 2009 and 2012. Despite him completing his course before KSOU’s recognition was cancelled, Girish has not received his certificate, and is suffering the same fate as students who studied after 2012.
What’s worse is that his sister is in the same mess. She also enrolled for an MBA and completed it in 2014, only to find out that her degree was not valid. “I am really blank as to what to expect. We are just following updates on Twitter and FB posted by some groups of KSOU students and waiting for authorities to do something for us,” says Girish.
Although there are talks about the government plans to request the UGC to recognise the degree of pass-outs of KSOU between 2013 to 2017, many students like Girish and Fayaz are living in uncertainty of their future.
Rajkumar Khatri, principal secretary, Higher Education, told CE that the matter was being pursued with concerned authorities.