Graduates from Sikkim Manipal University (SMU) affiliated colleges are worried after the university revealed its mode of education as Distance Learning.
This means, graduates from colleges affiliated to SMU will not get to sit for Bhutan Civil Service Examination or participate in elections from now as their degree will not be considered as formal university degree.
The university started reflecting its mode of education as “Distance Education” on graduation certificates only in 2016.
The director of the Royal Civil Service Commission, Tashi Pem said, “The rule has been there before these people had gone to study in which ever institute or distance learning mode they had taken. Since the rule is already there we will stick by the rules.”
Kinzang Thinley is one of the graduates from Six Sigma Educom College in Shillong. He said, “Till 2015, SMU did not reflect Directorate of Distance Education on their certificate. And our government considered all SMU graduates as regular students. As of today, SMU students participated in the elections, they appeared RCSC and some of them are still serving as civil servants and as politicians.”
Another graduate, Sonam Jamtsho said, they were never informed when they left for studies, that the college is not recognized by the Accreditation Council.
“In my college, since 2003 to 2016, more than 1000 students graduated from there. For an instance, my sister graduated two years ago from the same college I attended. If the government had notified us then we would not have studied there,” said the graduate from B.B. Pradhan Management College in Kalimpong.
Bhutan Accreditation Council under the education ministry recognizes the mode of education since 2015. Bhutan Accreditation Council said,
“The Council does not have tools to recognize institutions and therefore depends on the recognition status of the institution by equivalent bodies in the respective host countries. For example, if an institution is recognized in the host country we also consider that institution as recognized.”
A group of eight graduates has written to the Cabinet Secretariat and Education Secretary seeking consideration.
The University Grant Commission of India recognized SMU as Directorate of Distance Education only in March 2016.
Thousands of Bhutanese graduated from SMU affiliated colleges.
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