Deprived of certificates, RCMA students take to streets

Reported by Santosh Jagdev

Bhubaneswar, March 7:

Students of Master in Business Administration (MBA) of Regional College of Management Autonomous (RCMA) on Friday staged a demonstration at Lower PMG here demanding degree certificates and mark sheets.

The students said they have been debarred from receiving original certificates from the Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT), Rourkela since 2009 due to internal conflict between RCMA and BPUT. As a result of which many students have not been able to apply for job.

“Some of the students have even been sacked from various companies for not submitting their certificates in time,” said Raza Qadir, an agitating student.

Qadir said the college is issuing a provisional certificate which is valid only for a couple of months. After the validity period of the provisional certificate is over, companies are asking for the original certificate which the students are unable to provide.

The students also alleged that the college is still giving admission to new students even after admitting their fault.

RCMA director Prof Prabir Pal said the college had moved the Odisha High Court in 2009 against BPUT regarding the certificate issue. The case is sub-judice now, he said.

BPUT sources said the students are “technically nonexistent”, as the validation of the college lapsed in 2010.

The dispute with BPUT started from the time the college was given autonomy in 2009. The condition of the autonomy was that the college would abide by the rules and regulations of BPUT, what RCM failed to maintain, sources added.