BENGALURU: It is not just college students who face hurdles in recovering their original documents when they want to leave the institution. According to the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE), even faculty members and non-teaching staffers face a hard time when they want to get their documents back and move to another employer.
In a recent public notice, the council warned the management of institutions across India to follow guidelines that prevent the retaining of original documents. The AICTE has said that it has received several complaints to this effect and that it is contemplating withdrawal of approval given to institutions which flout guidelines.
“It has come to the notice of AICTE that in violation of extant guidelines many technical institutions are withholding/retaining the original educational qualification certificates of faculty/non teaching staff members.....in the event of such faculty /staff members resigning from the employment and moving onto new endeavours, their request for return of original documents are not accepted and in absence of original documents/certificates they are not able to join the new job.
Because of such a violation of norms, instances of suicide by the dejected employees have come to the notice of AICTE,” the council said.
An AICTE official told TNIE, “An employee of a private college in Chennai committed suicide due to the alleged harassment by the management who had retained his original documents. The public notice was issued as a warning to colleges.” The council is also encouraging staffers to bring such irregularities to their notice through the portal, www.aicte-india-org/grievance.
KM Karthik, the founder of the All India Private College Employees Union, said, “They harass employees by retaining documents and blackmail them. We hope the AICTE will act on each complaint.”
Students’ plaints still pouring in
The council continues to deal with several complaints from students against institutions which have refused to return their original documents when they decide to have their admissions cancelled. The AICTE and the University Grants Commission (UGC) have issued clear instructions that such activities are not legal and that original documents cannot be withheld. However, the Admissions Overseeing Committee is still dealing with complaints filed by students asking for help in getting their documents back.