A university office that keeps missing deadlines

Mohammad Selim (not his real name), a student of economics department at Jahangirnagar University (JU), desperately needed a temporary certificate of his examinations to apply for a scholarship.

On March 7, he came to the university's Office of the Controller of Examinations to collect the certificate but was told that it would take at least 21 days, if he wanted it through the regular process, which would cost Tk 200.

Selim did not have much time, as the application deadline was March 28. To his relief, he was informed that there was an "emergency" service by which certificates are provided in seven days at the cost of Tk 400.

Selim went for it, depositing the required money to the bank that day, and kept waiting.

Meanwhile, deadline for submission of the scholarship application was extended till April 15. However, he did not get the certificate even a month after availing the so-called emergency service.

In the end, Selim could not apply.

"It's utterly frustrating," he said.

Selim's case is not an isolated one, as the office of examination controller takes an unnecessarily long time to provide certificates and other necessary documents to students, depriving them of many opportunities.

A number of students expressed frustration over the delay, alleging that university authorities charge an additional Tk 200 for "emergency" service but hardly ever meet the deadline.

They said the controller office takes a long time to even provide students' grade sheets or transcripts.

Authorities claimed that they cannot issue certificates until the syndicate allows it.

Sources, however, said one of the reasons for the delay is lack of manpower and absence of automation, which makes the job dependent on manual systems. The university has been in talks for automation but could not initiate the process yet.

"A group of automation specialists visited the controller office a few months ago, but authorities could not finalise any contract, citing high costs," said an official of the office.

Currently, to get any document, students need to fill out a prescribed form, which has two options: general and emergency. But in the form, there is no mention of the days it will take to provide a document. Officials verbally mention that emergency services take seven days.

"That's why we can't hold the office responsible when they fail to provide documents in seven days," said a master's student.

During a recent visit to the two-storied office building, this correspondent found a stack of important documents lying scattered on the floor. Many students were waiting to receive their documents with only two persons serving them.

Admitting the delay, JU Exam Controller Prof Farid Ahmed said they need a syndicate meeting to approve results, which is why they cannot issue main certificates on time.

"We are spending too much time ensuring exact results of students, as we manually check the records. But we normally issue other documents as early as possible," he told this newspaper.

He, however, did not give any direct answer when asked whether there was any written rule of syndicate approval for issuing certificates.

Prof Farid said things would have been much easier and faster if automation could be introduced.

"We have already talked to teachers of Computer Science and Engineering department and Institute of Information Technology to develop automation software for reducing the hassle. But this initiative has been halted due to the pandemic," he said.

"We hope that a meeting will soon be held in this regard," he added.