Nagpur: The 110th convocation of Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU) took place on Thursday, and a total of 330 students were conferred degrees at the event. However, the PhD students were not given the opportunity to be conferred their PhD on stage, and were instead given their degree certificates while standing on their seat.
This decision was reportedly made due to time constraints imposed by Governor Ramesh Bais, who presided over the event as the Chancellor of the Universities in Maharashtra. Additionally, there were reports of mismanagement at the university, which may have contributed to the situation.
Speaking to Nagpur Today some PhD students who were affected by the decision to not confer their degrees on stage have expressed their disappointment and anguish at the situation.
They feel that receiving their degree in this way was a disservice to the years of hard work and effort that they put into their research, and that it was a missed opportunity to publicly recognize their achievements.
The students have also raised concerns that the mismanagement of the university may have contributed to the decision and are calling for greater transparency and accountability in such important events.
It is pertinent to mention that the event saw a total of 195 prizes being distributed, including 157 gold medals, 9 silver medals, and 29 cash prizes. It was also reported that 280 researchers were being honored with the title of Acharya, with the highest number of degrees being awarded in the Faculty of Humanities.
The number of eligible degree aspirants in affiliated colleges were as follows: 32,709 in the Faculty of Science and Technology, 27,925 in the Faculty of Commerce and Management, 25,659 in the Faculty of Humanities, 8077 in the Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies, and 7351 in Autonomous Colleges.