Scrap online exams, delay will only harm us, say students

Scrap online exams, delay will only harm us, say students

Mohammad.Ibrar@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 09.07.2020

Both students and teachers opposing the open-book examinations are not happy with Delhi University’s decision to postpone it till August 15. According to them, it will just “extend the misery of students”.

Many students who are preparing to sit for the final-year exams are unhappy as the postponement, they said, will not only add to their anxieties but also delay graduation and affect their plans for further studies or jobs.

Announcing the postponement, DU said on Wednesday that a new notification with the revised dates and other information would be uploaded on its website “in due course of time”.

“The university is now playing with the lives of students. This is the second postponement, and we suspected the authorities to do so after they faced a huge backlash over mishandling of mock tests,” said Jaishree Kumar, third-year history student at Ramjas College. “They should rather scrap the exams as many of us have been unable to study.”

Justifying its decision, DU said that in current circumstances, “all concerned stakeholders, especially students, may find it difficult to attend their scheduled activities of exams”.

Many teachers, however, wanted OBE to be scrapped altogether. “What DU has said will cause more harm than good to the students. Already students are anxious about the exams and with this decision, their issues have been extended by over a month,” said DU Teachers’ Association president Rajib Ray. “The only solution is to cancel the exams and declare the results of students on the basis of past performance and current-session internal assessment,” said former academic council member Pankaj Garg.

Anusha Mishra, a psychology student at Lady Shri Ram College, said “some will also be uncomfortable with the idea that they may not be able to graduate before September. One of the reasons why students, despite their opposition, decided to sit for the exam was to complete their graduation and apply for master’s or take up jobs”.

National Students’ Union Of India’s Akshay Lakra said NSUI “demands that OBE be cancelled and the students should be passed and promoted”. All India Students’ Association also made the same demand “to end the undue uncertainty”.

DUTA PRESIDENT SAYS

The students are already anxious about the exams and with DU’s decision to delay, their issues have been extended further