Tumkur University toppers get cheques as gold medals miss flight

Filed by: Sruthy

Bengaluru: For a few awkward hours at Tumkur University’s 19th convocation, the most coveted prizes existed only in photographs.

The university had lined up 90 gold medals for toppers graduating on June 3. The medals had been minted, packed and were supposedly on their way from Indore. But while the students made it to the convocation hall, the company that bagged the tender to supply the medals failed to make it on time.

What followed was a logistical comedy of errors that left the university scrambling and gold medallists fuming.

“They agreed to supply on June 1, which later got postponed to the night of June 2. But they missed the flight. They later rebooked for a June 3, 7.30am flight. The boxes were packed, and they were at the airport, but they were overweight. By the time the issue was sorted out, they missed that flight too,” explained vice-chancellor M Venkateshwarlu.

With the ceremony underway and no medals in sight, the university improvised. Instead of gold medals, toppers were handed cheques for Rs 6,000-7,000 based on the annual interest earned on the Rs 1 lakh deposits made by sponsors for each medal.

However, the substitute did not go down well with the students. “There is no mention in our certificates that we are gold medallists. Now, without even a gold medal, what is the proof of our achievement? We don’t want this cheque,” said an irked topper.

The university has now offered students a choice: return the cheque and collect the actual medal once it arrives.

“We are hoping to receive the gold medal soon. We will distribute them to the students,” the vice-chancellor said.

Ironically, the supplier was no stranger to the university. According to Venkateshwarlu, the same Indore-based company had won the tender through the e-procurement portal last year and delivered the medals without a hitch.

“This time, they sent us the photos of the medals. The delivery, however, got delayed,” he added.