Delhi University looks at ways to conduct exam online for 9 lakh students

As Delhi stares at an extension of lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 disease, Delhi University on Monday conducted a meeting of all its deans to discuss

As Delhi stares at an extension of lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 disease, Delhi University on Monday conducted a meeting of all its deans to discuss the possibilities of conducting an online examination for around nine lakh students of the varsity.

HT Image

At least 12 deans and the pro-vice chancellor were present during Monday’s meeting, which was conducted through video conferencing. Submitting answers through audio clips was one of the suggestions that came up in the meeting.

“We were exploring ideas on how to conduct the examination and it is all in the discussion mode. We don’t think any social gatherings will be allowed before June. From what it seems, conducting examinations at home seems to be the only option now,” said a dean, who was present at the meeting.

“We spoke about multiple options in the online mode, including using phones and laptops. The other deans raised apprehensions on how students who didn’t have internet or device would appear for the papers. The university will be taking all these apprehensions into account,” the dean added.

Rajesh Jha, DU executive council member, said, “In this online meeting, the administration proposed oral submission of answers through a third-party cyber platform, which clearly shows its scant understanding of essence of evaluation in higher education and its utter disregard for the students’ interest.”

“There is a possibility that some students may be better in written evaluation than verbal evaluation. There is no training for them or the evaluators,” Jha said, adding that the “deans turned down the proposal.”

“The examination in DU is a statutory process, which cannot be altered without approval of AC and EC. In the online process of paper setting, submission of answers and evaluation has very high chances of tampering and pilferage,” a teachers’ group Academics for Action and Development said in a statement.