University of Delhi: The students of the Economics Honors of the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) released a statement to “oppose the decision of Open Book Exams (OBE) and “stand in solidarity with the countless number of teachers” and students protesting against the University’s decision to conduct online examinations. The students took a jibe at the University’s struggle “to run its admission process online without repeated gaffes and failures” and hence, addressed the OBE decision as a “rude joke.”
The statement took note of the plight of the Kashmiri students who “still do not have access to anything faster than 2G networks” and the Amphan-hit students of Odisha and West Bengal who might not have access to online resources and readings. The statement also accused DU of using Amazon links while posting links to e-resources and not providing subscriptions to teachers to online meeting platforms; thus, “leaving both students and teachers to fend for themselves.”
The statement termed the University’s decision as “rushed,” “along with a disregard to the plight of the students during this humanitarian crisis.” Another important highlight was the completion of the examination process” which usually takes 2-3 months but with the University’s decision to declare the result in a month, “will also rush the process of checking the sheets and declaring results, thereby jeopardizing the marks of the students and also their future prospects.”
The Ministry of HRD’s suggestion to evaluate the students on the basis of 50% of their marks in the previous semester and 50% of their marks in the Internal Assessments was also referred to as a “logistically viable and ethical” alternative to the OBE. All in all, the students asked the administration to look into their grievances and scrap the decision.
