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A day after the Delhi High Court directed the Delhi University (DU) to conduct physical exams for final-year undergraduate and postgraduate college students from September 14, the college administration, lecturers and college students have raised issues over its feasibility amid the Coronavirus illness (Covid-9) pandemic.
The college had proposed holding physical examinations for college kids, who couldn’t take the Open Book Exams (OBE) on-line and people who need to higher their efficiency regardless of taking them, from September 20. But a bench comprising justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad stated the timeline was “quite unreasonable” and requested DU to advance the date.
This comes days after the Union house ministry, in an affidavit within the Supreme Court, stated that faculties might reopen to conduct final-year examinations.
While guaranteeing precautionary measures similar to social distancing whereas conducting the physical examination is a key concern for authorities, lecturers say they won’t have a lot time to finish the analysis and declare the outcomes for the continued on-line exams. The examination started on August 10 and can proceed until August 31.
A number of college students had left for his or her hometowns earlier than the nationwide lockdown was introduced. Travelling again to Delhi to take the examination, they are saying, won’t solely put their lives in danger but additionally add to the monetary burden.
DU’s Dean of Colleges Balaram Pani stated conducting exams whereas guaranteeing security precautions throughout the pandemic can be a problem. “State universities can conduct offline exams without challenges because their students live locally, unlike central universities, where students from all across the country study. Candidates from far-flung areas will face difficulties in coming to Delhi. Hostel accommodation will be risky due to Covid-19 restrictions. Students, especially those from economically weaker sections, might face difficulties in making these arrangements. Besides, students might be asked to quarantine; that will be another challenge,” he stated.
Principals throughout schools stated they should make elaborate preparations to conduct physical exams. The performing principal of Miranda House Bijayalaxmi Nanda stated, “We have to prepare because multiple things have to be done. There must be uniform protocols regarding health and safety because they are of paramount importance. If thousands of students come to the campus for offline exams, arrangements for social distancing and sanitisation and other things have to be made. If outstation students return, hostel arrangements have to be made. Limited resources have to be utilised, which will be challenging. Classes and evaluation are going on simultaneously.”
Several principals stated that conducting physical exams in October would have been higher since DU’s admission course of begins in September. Manoj Sinha, the secretary of Delhi University Principal’s Association and the principal of Aryabhatta College, stated, “The date doesn’t seem feasible since there isn’t enough time to prepare for offline exams, given the Covid-19 scenario. The entire teaching staff will be busy evaluating OBE papers. We cannot compromise this because it would affect overall results. Starting physical exams will not be conducive to the functioning of the institutions at present, but we will do what the varsity administration decides.”
DU is presently conducting on-line exams in open-book format for 260,000 final-year undergraduate and postgraduate college students, as a one-time measure given the Covid-19 pandemic.
Several school members raised issues over the comparability of scholars who at the moment are showing for the OBE to those that will seem for the offline exams in September. Rajesh Jha, a member of DU’s govt council (EC), stated, “The problem is how to put the two sets of students in the same bracket. It is not scientific and against the basics of standardised examinations. The uniformity of yardstick is a basic tenet of examinations.”
Most school members stated finishing the analysis strategy of the continued OBE wouldn’t be potential earlier than September 14. Pankaj Garg, an affiliate professor at Rajdhani College, stated, “It’s not possible to declare results before September 14. All the major exams will be held by August 19 and miscellaneous exams will continue till August 31. How will students decide to appear in the second phase of examination before their results are announced?”
Students additionally raised issues about their security throughout the prevailing state of affairs. Amal Simon, a final-year BSc Hons (Physics) pupil at Ramjas College, stated he and most of his associates are attempting to jot down on-line exams to keep away from travelling for offline exams. Simon, a resident of Kerala’s Palakkad, stated, “We are visiting cyber cafes or friends’ places to write exams; we just want to get this over with. We can’t risk our lives by travelling to Delhi at a time when cases are increasing day by day.”
Ram Govind, a final-year pupil of Rajdhani College, who lives in a village close to Allahabad, stated, “Even if train services resume and we manage to reach Delhi, where we will live? We had to let go of our rented accommodation when we returned to our hometown to save rent. Besides, our families won’t allow many of us to travel back due to the Covid-19 situation.”
Many visually impaired college students stated that it might not be potential for them to journey to Delhi for exams amid the pandemic. Ramjatan Yadav, a visually impaired pupil from Uttar Pradesh’s Sultanpur, stated, “Both decisions of conducting online and physical exams amid the pandemic are not inclusive and students like us were not kept in mind while making these decisions. How will we even travel and manage to stay without families in times like these?”
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