Delhi University mulls over open-book, online exams, passing 1st, 2nd yr students based on previous evaluations

The Delhi University (DU) is thinking about conducting exams only for final-year students while promoting first and second-year students on the basis of the scores

The Delhi University (DU) is thinking about conducting exams only for final-year students while promoting first and second-year students on the basis of the scores of their internal assessments and previous semester’s exams, persons familiar with developments said, adding that the varsity’s examination committee has proposed to conduct final-year exams through the open-book, online process.

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The proposal, however, was criticised by several faculty members and students.

According to officials, who asked to not be named, the newly-formed working committee on examinations, in a meeting Friday, discussed options for conducting exams amid the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The university had in March cancelled exams till further notice in view of the nationwide lockdown, imposed to curb the spread of the disease.

A member of the committee said that online open exams are under consideration. “The university is considering several options for conducting exams of third-year students. It will not be feasible to conduct exams for all students in DU in the present scenario. We have around 9,00,000 students, including those in the school of open learning (SOL) and non-collegiate women’s education board (NCWEB). Of these, over two lakh are in the final year and they are the priority now as they would need their results for admission to Master’s courses or for jobs. We are considering holding exams for only third-year students in the online mode,” the member said, requesting anonymity.

The University Grants Commission (UGC), in its recommendation to universities, had suggested that educational institutions may promote intermediate-year students on the basis of their internal exams and last semester’s exam scores.

Explaining the open-book format, an official, who asked not to be identified, said that the students can be allowed to use books or notes during the open book exams. “In such exams, students are evaluated on the basis of their understanding of concepts. We are yet to take a final call on this,” the member cited above said.

While other central universities in Delhi -- Jawaharlal Nehru University and Jamia Millia Islamia -- have already announced their revised academic calendars with details of examinations and admission, DU is yet to come up with a mechanism. The varsity has formed several committees to take a call on the matter.

DU’s dean of students Rajeev Gupta said, “The structure of DU is very different and it will take us some time to decide on how to conduct exams for so many students. Besides colleges and departments, we have SOL and NCWEB as well.”

A group of teachers on Sunday wrote to DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi opposing the proposal. “In the present situation, both the students and the teachers are struggling. The students are already stressed with online classes. This would add unnecessary pressure on them. The open-book, online exams need a totally different-patterned question paper. Neither students nor teachers have been trained for this process of conducting exams at our university,” said Pankaj Garg, one of the teachers who wrote to the VC, in his letter.

The teachers suggested that the final year students should also be promoted based on the UGC recommendation.

Meanwhile, a section of teachers suggested that exams should be conducted only after the situation becomes normal. “A big chunk of our students are from rural parts of the country; they do not have proper access to the internet. So any kind of online exams is not feasible for them. And it will be unfair for the first and second-year students if we do not conduct their exams. It is better that the university holds exams in a traditional manner only after the situation becomes normal,” said Rajesh Jha, a member of DU’s academic council.

Despite several attempts, the varsity’s vice-chancellor did not respond to calls and texts for a comment.