University challenge

No, no this is not about Sidharth Basu's 'University challenge' on BBC, but of the challenge posed by Madras University to its prospective students.

My sister recently went to Madras University for obtaining an application form for entrance exam to some of the PG courses offered by this University. She thought it must have been an easy task because personally she is going to Univ. Apparently it was not.

She had to apply for multiple courses offered by different schools of University, and also for the self-supporting track too. So she had to carry as many as 4 different DD for obtaining the same application form four times, and be filled 4 times.

At the Univ, she had to show it in a dept which would register that she has obtained a DD indeed, mark her name and give to her

Another dept had to be approcahed because the person there has to affix a seal that the DD is indeed a DD, and it is obtained in Madras University;s name, and had to enter into a register her name and courses, she is applying for

Next, she had to take the sealed acceptance, DD and a letter to another counter where they would supply the application form. This was a confusion again because in each school, cost of application form to apply for one course in that school is Rs 200 and an additinal Rs 100 thereafter for any other course application form. So, the person supplying the App form in the counter has to make a couple of entries in one school's register as the candidate name, DD amount and courses applied ofr. And another form in another school's register. And eventhough, the same school offers the self-supportive courses, the app form info had to be entered into another separate register.

The fun part is all these have to be entered into computers at the end of the day, a printout had to be taken, tallied with register at application form supply counter, DD verification counter and counter-signed by staffs in the relevant departments/counters.

Forget the backoffice process, the loop is not yet over.

After filling the forms, the student has to submit them in the relevant schools of Madras Univ, and not in some common box at Univ/common postal address. The courses my sister have applied span across the four centres of Univ in Chennai. Now she has to submit the forms at the relevant departments.

Madras University, what are you achieving?

Whither goest thou?