Almost 80 per cent of the foreign students could not attend the graduation ceremony organised by the University Foreign Relations Office of the Osmania University on Wednesday due to the “rescheduling of dates”. The uncertainty of the postponed programme led to many of them leaving for their respective countries. As a result, many students missed out on the joy of being present on their big day.
Initially, the convocation was scheduled for August 14. Then the university authorities postponed it to August 29 as they wanted to club the under graduate and post graduate convocations. Hence, many students who had completed their respective courses in different universities in the city, were unable to get their visas extended and left the country. Madhu Sarwati Meetoo, 22, a student from Mauritius, who is a student of Loyola Academy, and was unhappy with the procedure. She complained, “The university finally responded to my calls and mails on August 13, informing me of the rescheduled dates. I had to cancel my return trip and rebook my tickets which cost me a lot. The entire procedure to apply for the certificate is very prolonged and painfully strict.”
Another student, Abdul Razaq Syed Noor from Ethiopia, who did MA Sociology at Nizam’s College, was just as disgru- ntled. Complaints kept pouring in from foreign students who felt that they had not been guided well by the UFRO officials during their stay. UFRO director C. Venugopal Rao said, “Since the results of the PG courses were out in August, the management decided to club the UG and PG convocations and postpone the programme to August 29.”