A banking aspirant was made to run from pillar to post by a nationalised  bank before finally denying him the opportunity to appear for an interview for the post of a probationary officer.

The candidate, a visually-impaired student, had competed with lakhs of other students to clear the written examination. However, he was denied an interview by the bank’s interview board saying he was not a graduate on July 1, 2013, a pre-condition to appear for the interview.

Although true, it was not the fault of the student, as  the University of Pune (UoP) delayed his graduation result by a month. Thus, the mistake on part of the UoP ruined the dream of the youth who had been tirelessly preparing for the bank PO exams since the past six months. And even after clearing the written examination he was not given his rightful chance to appear for the interview, just because the university result came late.

Vishal Hanumant Pawle hails from Sonapur (Post Oshade, Taluka Haveli District Pune), which is situated near Panshet, 35 km from Pune city. His parents are farmers and his younger brother is studying in standard XI. Vishal is an arts graduate from Fergusson College with politics as his main subject. He is a member of Niwant Andha Mukta Vikasalaya (NAMV), an organisation working for the welfare of the organisation works.

Vishal said he came to know about the Institute of Banking and Personnel Selection (IBPS), the apex banking service recruitment body for nationalised banks. He applied for it online, appeared for the online examination on October 20, 2013, and cleared it.

Vishal said he was to appear before the interview board on January 3, but the interview board refused to conduct his interview saying he was not a graduate on July 1, 2013. When Vishal told them that it was the university that delayed the announcement of the result and it was not his fault, the board asked him to bring a letter from the university admitting the delay.

The university gave him the letter the next day, which the board refused to accept. The university’s examination controller, when contacted, admitted that the result of the examination conducted in April 2013 was to be out by June 16, 2013, but because of some technical issues the result was declared on July 13. He said that he has now written to the IBPS secretary requesting him to conduct Vishal’s interview at any other centre where interviews for the PO/MT-III are on.