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Lodged within the confines of a quarantine centre in Manipur, 22-year-old Kai has spent the last two days in absolute gloom. But this feeling of anxiety does not entirely stem from fears of contracting the novel coronavirus, given the presence of a suspected case at the facility.
Precarious as his predicament might be, Kai is not the only one feeling dejected. Thousands of kilometres away from him in Bihar, Rajneesh has been praying to the weather gods to keep the seasonal gusts away in July, just so that he can charge his smartphone.
The final-year student at the University of Delhi (DU) would have to appear for an Online Book Examination, for which he needs a device and a stable internet connection. “But, if there’s no electricity, how will I charge my phone?” he asks.
Plagued by these problems – and buoyed by Maharashtra’s decision to evaluate final year students on the basis of scores of the previous semester – students from different universities across India have now taken to social media to demand that exams be postponed or cancelled, since the situation is not conducive.
And there are a multitude of reasons. Whether online or offline, students across universities say they are not opposed to the idea of exams, but have reservations about the way they are being planned without taking their interests and safety into consideration.
Moreover, many say that online classes have not been as effective, and as a result, a large part of their syllabus has not been completed.
Further, many do not have the required study material with them and wonder how they will study for the exams. And those being asked to appear for online exams wonder how they will travel to their respective college and come back home, without being exposed to the virus.
At the University of Delhi, it is access that remains the major hurdle.
According to a survey conducted by the Delhi University Teachers Association, over 85 percent students said that they are not in favour of the Online Open Book Examination (OBE).
The survey found that around 33.7 percent were not able to attend online classes though Google Meet, Zoom or any other application and around 38 percent students in DU have not been able to access reading material online, even if it been provided to them
The problems at the University of Delhi has prompted NSUI to launch a Change.org petition. “DU Must end the uncertainty around exams and promote students of all semesters without exams and waive-off college fees,” said NSUI National Secretary Lokesh Chugh.
And then there are other issues.
Students of Karnataka’s Manipal Academy of Higher Education have asked the institute to call off online examinations scheduled to begin from 8 June, as the software required to appear for the exam only supports Windows and does not work on other operating systems.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a final-year student of the Manipal Institute of Technology said that PEXA, the software in question, comes loaded with a malware.
While online exams come with their own share of problems, offline exams too have drawn criticism in Gujarat and Telangana, especially amid reports of rising cases in India.
Although Gujarat Technical University has said that final year exams conducted by it will be held in July, students have been demanding the exams be called off and students be promoted en mass as only 50 percent of their syllabus has been completed.
In Hyderabad’s JNTU, final-year students are worried as to how they will reach college for offline exams commencing from 20 June. Sha Faisal, a third-year student, has been stuck inside a containment zone in Navi Mumbai and wonders how exactly he will reach Hyderabad.
Just like Maharashtra, he says that JNTU should look at passing all students on the basis scores of the previous semester. “Most of the recruiters consider projects that we have already completed. So, there’s no question of not testing requisite skills.” he adds.
Although students have been demanding that final year exams be scrapped, the proposal may not sit well with the University Grants Commission (UGC). In an advisory to colleges, the UGC had said that universities may conduct final-year terminal examinations in July, while exploring different ways.
For the first and second year, UGC had given universities the option to evaluate students on the basis of internal assessment and scores of the previous semester, only if the situation did not return to normal.
Meanwhile, in a recent webinar, Union Human Resource Development Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal said that while exams for first and second year students could be replaced by internal evaluation, exams for final year students would “definitely happen.”
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