DDE students suffer due to PU lapse

PATNA: They are fit enough to get through UPSC and other tough competitive examinations. However, they have been declared unfit to join their jobs because their graduation degrees have been declared ���invalid��� by recruitment agencies.
���It���s like sudden darkness in your life,��� said Prabhat Kumar, a graduate from the Directorate of Distance Education (DDE), Patna University.Kumar, like thousands of other students of this centre, has found out that the degrees obtained by them are ���invalid���. They include at least one IAS officer of the 2006 batch and one allied services official of the 2005 batch. DDE had been established in 1974.
Patna University ignored the gazette published by the ministry of human resources department on January 1995 making it mandatory for all universities having DDEs to have the approval of the Distance Education Council, New Delhi in order to make the degrees given by them valid for posts and services of the Central government. In effect, the degrees given by DDE (PU) from 1995 to 2005 have been rendered invalid for Central government jobs.
Akhilesh Kumar Pandey, a graduate from DDE, quit his job as an assistant commandant of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) after he was recommended for appointment by the Staff Selection Commission through combined graduate-level examinations in 2005. ���I was to be appointed as an income-tax inspector. But when they called me to Chennai for certificate verification, I was told by the commission that my certificate is not proper for appointment to Central government services. They cited the government notification of 1995,��� he said. ���There were at least one dozen successful candidates having graduation degrees of DDE, PU who were denied appointment,��� he added.
Some of the DDE graduates have approached officials of the Union HRD ministry. ���One IAS official, himself a graduate of Patna University, expressed surprise over the lapse by the university. They asked us to write an application on the issue but also told us that very little could be done in this matter,��� said another student.
Incidentally, due to limited seats available at graduate level in Patna University, many bright students did their graduation from DDE of the university.
The hapless students have gone to every possible forum in Patna ��� state HRD secretary, governor���s house and ministers. ���While we were not able to meet CM Nitish Kumar despite waiting for three hours, a minister taunted us saying that he had not advised them to get admitted to DDE,��� said another candidate.
DDE director A Mishra said, ���The VC has already talked to the authorities concerned and they have agreed to give recognition with retrospective effect.���