Delhi Technological University (DTU) released the date sheet for the upcoming examinations of first to third-year students. The examinations will begin on 27 July. This comes in the midst of massive online protests of the students against the examination.
Many students of DTU claimed that the notification is against the guidelines of the University Grants Commission (UGC) that had asked colleges to promote students directly should the pandemic exacerbate.
Click here for access to the date sheet.
The UGC guidelines which were released in April had said, “For intermediate semester/ year students, the universities may conduct examinations, after making a comprehensive assessment of their level of preparedness, residential status of the students, status of COVID-19 pandemic spread in different region/state and other factors.
“In case the situation does not appear to be normal in view of COVID-19, in order to maintain’ social distancing’, safety and health of students, grading of the students could be composite of 50% marks on the basis of pattern of internal evaluation adopted by the universities and the remaining 50% marks can be awarded on the basis of performance in previous semester only (if available).”
The guidelines stated that internal evaluation could be prelims, mid-semester, and so on. If the previous semester or year’s marks are unavailable, 100% could be done on the basis of internal evaluation.
Students who wish to improve their grades may take special tests for the concerned subjects the next semester. This provision is only for the current academic session due to the pandemic.
The students argued that the government has predicted 550,000 coronavirus cases by 31 July in Delhi alone. In spite of such unfavourable factors, DTU is insistent on holding the examination.
There are other reasons why the students are against the DTU online examination. First of all, the examination demands uninterrupted Internet access for two hours which is difficult for some and impossible for many, such as those from a weaker economic background or those living in remote areas.
Many university students do not have their books, laptops and webcam as they left for their homes as soon as the lockdown was imposed, expecting it to be brief.
For students who are currently interning, it will be difficult to leave internships and prepare for the examination. The university is saying that those who cannot take the examination online should wait and take them offline later at the university. Students argue that this is an impractical solution. Classes are unlikely to resume before October, which will lead to a gap of at least five months since the online classes were held.
Finally, it is likely to affect the placements of the final year students. It will also disrupt the curriculum of the upcoming semesters.
In May, DTU students started an online petition addressed to the Chief Minister of Delhi asking him to cancel the term-end examinations. The final year students demand that the online examination be canceled. As of now, over 900 students have signed the petition.
Read More: DTU M.Tech 2020 Admissions via GATE
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