To,
Director
Chennai Regional Centre
IGNOU
Sub: Non acceptance of MTM assignments
Respected sir,
I’m currently pursuing MTM (first year) with IGNOU and have been assigned study centre 2501 (D G Vaishnav College) by the university. I submitted a DD for Rs 5600 (dated 9/08/2011, number 240870) at the IGNOU Chennai centre (Nandanam), requesting to be admitted to the MTM course. Soon after, I received a letter, stating I’ve been admitted to the course for the July 2011 session. When I met the officials at the Nandanam centre regarding course material, I was told I’d be intimated by my study centre through correspondence. I’d received no information from them until October. I then visited the centre again in November, December and January, to enquire about the books. I was told that I’d be notified by the centre. One lady was kind enough to tell me to check the website, and the website carried the same statement – you’ll be notified through correspondence by the study centre. (the website, for your information, doesn’t open now. It says – Account Suspended!).
It was not until March that I heard from the centre. After repeatedly trying to reach officials through phone (which conveniently no one picks up), I was told to collect the books from the Taramani office personally.
I’d even taken efforts to mail rcchennai@ignou.ac.in on March 12. The e-mail is as follows –
From: Lakshmi Venkateswaran lakshmi.24iyer@gmail.com
sender timeSent at 16:14 (GMT+05:30).
Current time there: 14:28.
✆ to: rcchennai@ignou.ac.in
date12 March 2012 16:14
subject: Urgent. No communication or study materials received mailed-bygmail.com 2 Mar
Hi sir/madam
Name: V Lakshmi
Enrolment No. : 115513492
Course: MTM
I had applied for MTM for the July 2011 session and I received a letter in August from the Chennai regional office, stating that I've been accepted for the same. I also received my ID card along with it. But till date, I haven't received any notification or communication regarding my exams. I haven't received my study materials as well. I've to take up my exam in June 2012 and I also have to submit my assignments by March so that I can get my hall ticket without paying late fees. A few days ago, I received the re-registration form for my second year. Kindly get back to me with the process to obtain the study materials and the date within which I've to submit my assignments.
Thanks
Lakshmi 9444909853
It’s another thing that the mail that I addressed to your official e-mail id hasn’t been answered until now. I went to Taramani to collect the books post March 12, and I was told that books for MTM 5 and 6 weren’t available at the time. A kind gentleman had the courtesy to SMS me a few days later, telling me he’s found alternative books for those courses, and I collected them the same day. Unsure I’d be able to finish the assignments by March 31, and given that IGNOU is student-friendly and flexible as you claim, I visited Guindy centre 15 days ago (you can verify the visitors’ book – I’d signed in at 5 pm sharp!) to enquire if I can submit only MTM 1 and 2, and TS 1, 2, 3 and 6.
But the person who apparently was to guide me through my assignments told me it would be wise on my part to submit all 12 papers by March. He said, and I quote – “You can write and take prints of all assignments because it won’t reflect well on your final certificates if the assignments were submitted late.” I also made it a point to tell one of your book’s in charge that a certain chapter in MTM 1 has been wrongly printed and I had sent a mail to the same e-mail id as per her request.
I’ve the MTM manual, and the instruction papers with me. And none of them mentions that the assignments have to ONLY BE HAND-WRITTEN. And none of your employees bothered to inform me during the numerous times I visited them that I can’t submit printed assignments.
And the chief at the study centre refused to accept my assignments that I had painstakingly sat and typed out on a computer, took print-outs of and hard-bound it. And the reason he gave me is that no one has submitted computer prints in the last 15 years!
I totally understand when he says I should have visited the study centre before writing the assignments. But why will I walk up till Arumbakkam, when the regional centre, which is supposed to man the entire curriculum, informs me that the books for 2011 course haven’t come yet and that the study centre will inform me?
Interestingly, all correspondence regarding fees and re0-reigisteration fro next year reached my home at the proper time. How come the correspondence from study centre failed to reach me?
The chief at the study centre said he will extend time for me to sit and write the assignments. But, why will I do it? When I am totally at no fault, having literally burnt the midnight oil typing out assignments and finding answers from fat books that I didn’t even have time to go through, thanks to the lack of communication from IGNOU’s end, and taken print outs of 200-odd pages and aligned them in position?
I’m a working woman, and which is why I’m doing my masters though long distance education. We are, for God’s sake, in the 21st century, and every single college in the country accepts assignments that have been printed out. Why, in Lord’s name, will the IGNOU not accept printed assignments? Especially when it hasn’t been mentioned in any of the handbooks that they won’t accept one! Especially when the assignment guide, who sits in IGNOU Chennai regional centre, tells me to ‘write and print’ the assignments!
It’s with great regret that I have to tell you that I’ve been traumatised by the incident. With due respect, I’m not going to write my assignments all over again because it’s a waste of my time, my energy, black cartridges and papers. Kindly accept the assignments as a special case, and at the same time, take efforts to state clearly to students in future that only hand-written assignments be accepted.
Thanking you,
V Lakshmi
Enrolment Number: 115513492
Study Centre: 2501
No comments:
Post a Comment