COIMBATORE: More than three lakh teachers, who have completed their B.Ed course, have been waiting for their degree certificates for the past three years. Reason? The Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University (TNTEU) does not have a printer to print their certificates!
According to sources, the TNTEU did not give convocation certificates to students of 650 colleges belonging to 2018-19, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 batches as it could not take printouts of certificates. “TNTEU recently purchased printers at a cost of Rs 30 lakh. The certificates will be issued soon,” sources said.
An assistant professor of a government B.Ed college told TNIE, “In 2022, the University Grants Commission has instructed all higher education institutions to award degrees within 180 days of declaring results. But TNTEU delayed it by more than three years. This shows TNTEU’s lethargic attitude and inefficient administration.” The university’s vice-chancellor post has also been vacant for the past two years, he said.
The principal of a private B.Ed college said graduates have been making phone calls to institutions almost on a daily basis asking for their degree certificates.
‘Schools slash salary by 50% for lack of certificate’
“Only now TNTEU has taken steps to award the certificates. On Wednesday evening, the university sent a letter to colleges directing principals to submit authorisation letter and collect degree certificates,” she said. C Vidhya, a student, said,
“I completed B.Ed in 2019-2020 from a private college in Coimbatore. Though I got the provisional certificate, I faced difficulty during job interviews in schools. One school rejected me because I did not have B.Ed degree certificate.
Several private schools pay only 50% salary to teachers who do not have degree certificates,” she said. P Roslin, who completed B.Ed in 2020-2021, said graduates faced difficulty in attending certificate verification for government jobs after clearing competitive exams. “The TNTEU should issue degree certificates without further delay,” she said.
When asked about it, TNTEU V-C committee member P Natesan said, “A few months ago, we had taken steps to purchase printers. Work of taking printouts of degree certificates has been completed. The certificate will reach 650 colleges, including government and aided institutions, by October 31.”