DU exams begin, uncertainty over
Students across 13 science courses under the Delhi University appeared for their first semester examination on Tuesday. Joyeeta Ghosh reports.
Students across 13 science courses under the Delhi University appeared for their first semester examination on Tuesday. The immediate results could be seen on their smiling faces with most students saying that the papers were easy and direct with a lot of choices.
"It was a very easy paper. We did not expect the questions to be so simple. Hopefully the marking will be lenient too," said Shalu Sharma, a first-year student of BSc Physical Science of Ramjas College.
All apprehensions regarding the completion of course and preparation under the semester system seem to have come to a naught as most students said their teachers completed the courses well in time and the revised schedule gave them enough time to prepare.
"The question paper was quite good and I could answer all of them. Our teachers managed to complete the course just in the nick of time," said Vandana Sharma, a first-year student of Physics (Honours) of Hindu College. Principals, too, seemed relieved with the reactions of the students. "After all the uncertainty surrounding the examinations, it was heartening to see happy faces after the examinations," said Savithri Singh, principal of Acharya Narendra Dev College.
But even though students seemed prepared for the core subjects, Mathematics and English, which are compulsory additional papers, still remain a concern for students. "Even though I am confident about the main papers but I cannot say the same about Mathematics and English. We have hardly had any classes for these subjects," said Sparsh Makhaik, a first year Chemistry student.
The English and mathematics departments were opposed to the revised syllabus introduced under the semester system. The teachers of both the departments in various colleges had said the changes were not done in consultation with them and hence they refrained from taking classes completely.
The teachers only started teaching after the court intervened and upheld the implementation of the semester system in November. This gave them very little time to finish the courses in these two subjects. The first semester examinations will continue till January 13.