Chandigarh: PU to hold semester exams offline

Panjab University, Chandigarh, is planning to hold the upcoming semester exams in offline mode, the university said on Monday; the semester examination is scheduled to start in December

Panjab University (PU) is planning to hold the upcoming semester examination in offline mode, the university said on Monday.

Panjab University (PU), Chandigarh, will hold semester exams, which is scheduled to start in December, in offline mode. (HT File Photo/ Representational image)

The semester examination is scheduled to start in December at PU. The university on Monday in an official communique said: “The PU authorities have planned to hold the forthcoming odd semester December-2021 examinations in offline mode and started the preparation for the same.”

This comes days after a university panel, constituted to deliberate on the specifications of online proctoring software as a backup plan for the upcoming semester examinations. The panel had also opined that offline mode should be preferred for the conduct of the examination.

Only some departments on the campus have started offline classes for postgraduate final year students so far at PU. The panel has suggested that efforts should be made to reopen more departments and conduct doubt classes for those with the offline examination. “In colleges, offline classes have already started and residential accommodation is also not a problem there, therefore, the offline examination should be the preferred mode of examination,” the panel has said.

Since the pandemic broke out last year, the university has conducted its semester examinations in online mode three times so far, without any invigilation. However, there was criticism over the sanctity of these online exams.

Meanwhile, Nikhil Narmeta, National Students Union of India (NSUI) PU president, said, “This is an illogical decision as classes for the current semester were held online.”