Pune: Students who were given a special chance to appear for exams after Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) blocked their permanent registration numbers (PRNs) have alleged errors in their results and marksheets — a claim denied by the university.Universities typically block a PRN or expire a student’s academic validity two years after the standard completion time of an engineering programme (known as N+2 rule). However, extensions of one or two years are sometimes granted as special cases to allow students to complete their courses.Dhiraj Gaikwad, a BE civil engineering student, was one such case. Having appeared for his final year exam in 2023, his PRN was blocked after two years. Under special consideration, he appeared for the examination this summer, the results of which were announced in July.“I checked my results late and found that they showed eight out of ten subjects from electrical engineering under my name. When I went to meet the examination director a day ago, he said he would look into it. When I checked later, it showed the correct result. The other problem is whether I will be able to apply for the next exam, because when I try to fill out the exam forms, it says ‘PRN blocked’,” said Gaikwad.Gaikwad failed the exam and hopes to appear for it during the winter session, but he is unable to get straight answers from the university regarding his eligibility.“The biggest problem with the university is a lack of communication. Every time, I have to take a half-day off from work and travel to the university for each and every issue because they don’t have a robust grievance redressal system. I live in Hadapsar, on the other end of the city. There are students coming from different districts for small issues that could be resolved if the university just had someone willing to listen,” Gaikwad added.Another student, a young mother from Palghar, has made three trips to the university just to get an update on her request for a photocopy of her answer sheet.“I live two hours away from Palghar and have a 13-month-old baby. I appeared for my BE exam in 2023. I had a backlog in my third year, but when the BE hall ticket arrived, the backlog subject was not reflected on it, meaning I couldn’t appear for the exam. I don’t know whether the college or the university messed up, but I didn’t get my degree certificate because of it. I appeared for the examination last summer, but I was given zero marks, which is impossible. I applied for a photocopy of my answer sheet over two months ago, but I still haven’t received it,” she said.She added that all she wants is for the university to respond instead of forcing her to travel nine hours for a minor task that could easily be done online if the university chose to offer it.ABVP representative Shiva Barole alleged that some students who appeared for the exams were erroneously marked absent, and that there were further discrepancies in results and revaluations. He demanded immediate correction of results and an independent inquiry into the examination department’s handling of results, revaluations, and marksheets over the past year. However, the university officials denied the claims.“In the first case, there was no error. The student was asked to open the website in my presence using his ID and password, and he was able to see his correct results with subjects from civil engineering. As for appearing for the next examination, the university has not blocked their PRNs,” a senior SPPU official said.“The university has completed processing 99% of the applications for photocopies that we received. On humanitarian grounds, we even entertain students who do not apply within the stipulated time. Sometimes delays happen due to late submissions on their part. Even then, we only have 200 to 500 photocopies left to process, which will be completed soon,” the official added.
