Amid NEP transition: PU, affiliated colleges see multiple exam disruptions
The cycle of disruptions began when in November last year, multiple exams were postponed due to campus agitations over the senate elections
Panjab University (PU) witnessed multiple examination postponements and a series of procedural lapses over the past few months, with authorities attributing the disruptions largely to the transition to the National Education Policy (NEP).
The cycle of disruptions began when in November last year, multiple exams were postponed due to campus agitations over the senate elections. The delays continued into the end-sem examinations, which were also marked by deferments and a series of procedural discrepancies at several examination centres.
Complaints have since emerged against five affiliated colleges, including MRS Malout and Guru Nanak College, Ferozepur, over alleged violations of examination norms, along with Government College of Art, Sector 10 and GGDSD, Sector 32 also reporting disruptions in examinations.
In one such case, a law student lodged a complaint regarding the jurisprudence paper held on December 17 at the PU regional centre in Sri Muktsar Sahib, alleging poor examination conditions, inadequate invigilation and the use of electronic devices inside the examination hall. Postgraduate mathematics students also raised concerns, claiming their examination was “out of syllabus” resulting in them writing to the authorities regarding the confusion.
A major breach was reported when an examination packet meant for the afternoon session was allegedly opened and distributed during the morning session at one of the centres. The lapse led to the immediate invalidation of the afternoon paper scheduled for the same day and forced the university to postpone the examination across all affected centres. Scheduling confusion further affected students at SD College, where nearly 11 to 12 candidates reportedly missed their examination after it was rescheduled from the evening to the morning session, while the original date sheet had not been adequately communicated.
{{/usCountry}}A major breach was reported when an examination packet meant for the afternoon session was allegedly opened and distributed during the morning session at one of the centres. The lapse led to the immediate invalidation of the afternoon paper scheduled for the same day and forced the university to postpone the examination across all affected centres. Scheduling confusion further affected students at SD College, where nearly 11 to 12 candidates reportedly missed their examination after it was rescheduled from the evening to the morning session, while the original date sheet had not been adequately communicated.
{{/usCountry}}PU officials acknowledged that revisions to syllabi under NEP had compounded the problem, creating operational challenges for both students and administrative staff. Controller of examinations, Jagat Bhushan, said the university was under unprecedented pressure due to the scale of changes brought by NEP. “Due to NEP, we weren’t as prepared as we should have been. The number of papers has increased tremendously, leading to unprecedented pressure. This phase has been a learning curve for us and a few anticipations were not made, which resulted in chaos,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}PU officials acknowledged that revisions to syllabi under NEP had compounded the problem, creating operational challenges for both students and administrative staff. Controller of examinations, Jagat Bhushan, said the university was under unprecedented pressure due to the scale of changes brought by NEP. “Due to NEP, we weren’t as prepared as we should have been. The number of papers has increased tremendously, leading to unprecedented pressure. This phase has been a learning curve for us and a few anticipations were not made, which resulted in chaos,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Bhushan added that while several issues have been resolved, some remain under enquiry with the boards of studies. He said steps were already underway to streamline the new system for smoother conduct of examinations.
PU authorities said the university now had a clearer understanding of NEP related processes and assured that future examinations would be conducted with better coordination. Officials also announced that CCTV cameras would be installed in all affiliated colleges before the next examination cycle to strengthen monitoring and prevent irregularities.
