Student Gets Mother’s Name Added to Degree Certificate

A law student has succeeded in getting her mother’s name added to her provisional degree certificate after the private university from which she graduated in India originally provided her with a certificate that carried her father’s name alone, reports the Hindustan Times.

The student, Samrita Shankar, who reportedly graduated with a BBA LLB (Hons), originally received her provisional certificate on July 10 carrying her father’s name alone as is the common practice.

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The certificate read, “This is to certify that Samrita Shankar, the ward of Shankar Narasimhan….”

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However, she asked the examinations officer to include the names of both her parents, but she was told that doing that would not be possible because the usual practice was to mention the father’s name alone. Shankar then wrote an email to the dean of the university the same day, highlighting the issue.

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“In today’s world, mothers are equally working hard and contributing (financially and otherwise) towards their child’s development and education. Therefore, continuing with an anachronistic practice such as only including the father’s name in educational procedures and certificates is not only a step back in achieving gender equality, but also disrespectful to single/unwed/divorced mothers and their children,” she wrote in her letter.

The dean responded to Shankar’s email within half an hour, thanking her for drawing the attention to the issue, and also said that he had already given instructions to university officials to make necessary changes and to issue her a revised certificate with her mother’s name as well.

Shankar got her revised certificate within five days on July 15.