Gauhati University, a prestigious name, a pride, and an esteemed institution, came into existence as a result of uncountable tries by those who envisioned educated generations to emerge from the region, from the masses. It was a result of the farsightedness of those like the then Chief Minister Gopinath Bordoloi and Fifth president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. They were able to collect more than 16 lakh rupees in donations to establish the University.
The University stands in full glory when gulmuhors are in full bloom, hence earning the much-deserved name Krishnachurar Desh. It boasts of having some of the brightest stars in the academic and cultural spheres of Assam as its alumni. Bhupen Hazarika, Nirmal Prabha Bordoloi, Maheswar Neog, Mamoni Raisam Goswami are just a few names on the endless list.
The University was graded in the A category by NAAC. It was ranked 11th amongst the state-run universities in the country by India Today. It was also ranked 45th in the NIRF Rankings in the list of 100 universities. It boasts of being 64th among all Higher Educational Institutes in the country and is placed within the top 0.88% of all participating institutes in NIRF Rankings. Currently, more than 300 colleges are offering UG and PG courses affiliated with the university. It boasts of catering to a wide spectrum of social and economic strata.
The above information, for the most part, has been directly extracted from the University Website. Truly, it is not an exaggeration to say that Gauhati University is a university of dreams for many. Thousands aspire to be a part of it. Parents dream of looking at their children as GU graduates.
But is Gauhati University keeping up with its fame and achievements justly? The reality seems not only different but absolutely unfortunate.
The University has managed to catch headlines time and again, mostly for the wrong reasons. It is heartbreaking to see how thousands of these students are repeatedly given abysmal treatment by the University. The GU that stands in front of us has presented itself as an epitome of inefficiency.
Peaceful protests, the last resort left to the students, are responded to with violence, as was evident during the protests of 4th August 2022. The latest blunder has been caused by ‘faulty’ results where thousands of students were marked fail despite their exam performance, and numerous others were marked absent. Uncountable students perished under the system, and sadly they continue to do so. Naturally, to calm the storm after the protests, the bait of free re-evaluation was unleashed, but it turns out the results remained the same.
The University website issued a notice on September 1st, 2022 consisting of four points mentioning allowing the students to check their answer scripts in person. Interestingly, on 4th September 2022, a day before the final Semester results along with re-evaluation results was announced, they issued a revised notice which eliminated the privilege of in-person answer script checking.
Controller of Examination Dhrubojyoti Choudhury, who is currently undergoing suspension, had indicated that “offline” mode was the reason why students performed badly. Sure, the students may have gotten too comfortable with open-book tests and online examinations; however, there is a difference between bad performance and failure.
A student carries a level of confidence about his/her performance in an exam. Simply blaming the mode of exam is undermining that confidence. Hundreds of students lost the opportunity to start their Post graduation, despite being selected for the same. Is this how a premier institute should treat its students? It is the duty of an institute to nurture them. Instead, the University has been constantly ‘other-ing’ them!
Even if the University claims no discrepancy in the results from its end, and even if it happens to be true, it should not be forgotten that such large rates of failure are never a good sign for its overall image. It only questions its veracity as a premier institute. It is an alarm bell to ponder upon the fact that it upholds its values. From faulty results to late declaration of results, it all points to the fact that mass reformation is required in the University. Why is it that students have to protest so often? If anything, it all indicates the internal decay within the University. If not addressed soon, it won’t take long before the sun of Gauhati University sets.