ISLAMABAD: The Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) has allegedly failed to award degrees/certificates to 75,000 students despite completion of their respective courses. Reliable university sources told Daily Times that 75,000 students were waiting for their degrees since years after they completed their educational programmes. The said that the university’s examination wing and degree verification section were creating hindrance in issuance of degrees. They said that most of degrees/certificates were stuck due to minor objections including failure of students to submit outstanding fee. A university’s official, requesting anonymity, said that the university did not issue certificate to a student of MA who failed to submit Rs 100. The official further said that usually lazy management also did not even inform the student and raised other objections. Raheem Dad, a students of primary teaching certificate (PTC), who hails from Swat, said that he completed his PTC in 2014 but could not acquire the certificate. Despite visiting the university time and again, he said he could acquired the certificate from the university. “Every time, the university raised a new objection. Repeated visits have exhausted me,” he regretted. Another student, Muhammad Farhan, who was standing outside the degree verification room’s window in the university the other day, revealed that his sister completed her MEd in 2013 but she was not awarded her degree. “We visited university several times in last couple of months, but still in vain.” Farhan claims that each time the officials concerned raises a new objection. “Some corrupt elements intentionally delay the genuine cases because they want to fill their pockets by taking bribes from poor students,” he said, adding an official working in the degree verification programme has demanded bribe from him for early processing of the case. According to the university’s data processing section, average student enrolment in various programmes is 1.2 million per year and more than 2,000 courses are offered while thousands of teachers are hired for the enrolled students. The wing officials said that enrolment of the students was being increased with each new semester. Commenting on the maladministration another senior official, requesting anonymity said that the government released billion of rupees to the university, but its performance was not up to the mark. He said that the university, just for the sake of funding, had established 33 regional centres, 138 part-time regional coordinating offices and 1,172 study centres countrywide, whereas the performance of these centers was not satisfactory. The officials of these centres did not attend the phone calls of the aggrieved students, he added. The AIOU was established in 1974 under a Parliamentary Act with an aim to provide educational facilities to people who cannot leave their homes and jobs. It is the country’s largest distance learning programme. Despite repeated attempts, AIOU Examination Controller Sohail Nazeer Rana and Vice Chancellor Shahid Sidiqui were not available for their views.