DU students new to OBE look to recent graduates for assistance

Following concerns and queries over the online open-book examination (OBE) beginning next week at Delhi University, students appearing for the exams are looking

Following concerns and queries over the online open-book examination (OBE) beginning next week at Delhi University, students appearing for the exams are looking to their recently graduated alumni for assistance.

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Last week, Delhi University had issued guidelines for the online open-book semester examination, for second and third-year undergraduate students, slated to begin from December 12.

Several colleges are planning to organise online sessions with recent graduates who appeared for the first-ever OBEs at the university in August. The varsity decision to conduct OBE as a one-time measure in view of the Covid-19 pandemic had been met with staunch opposition from several students and faculty members, but it went ahead with the process nevertheless. Several glitches were reported during the exams, including students receiving the wrong question paper or being unable to submit their answer scripts on time.

Divyanshika Pandey, a final-year student of economics at Miranda House, said, “We have asked students to send their queries as a Google form and those will be sent to our graduates. The graduates will circulate it among their groups so that anyone can respond. A virtual session is also likely to be held towards the weekend.”

The queries posed by students include doubts about the paper pattern, time management, how to upload answer scripts on the portal and possible glitches that may arise.

“Our teachers have also been helping us but it is always better to hear from former students on how to structure answers and understand how these answers are then graded. The logistical queries are also there -- like how to upload scripts and what to do in case of an error. We have been interacting with some graduates over the semester but a last-minute session would help,” she said.

Similar attempts are made at Hindu College and Lady Shri Ram College as well. Hindu principal Anju Shrivastava said graduates proposed the idea to the college to help out their departments and encourage those appearing for their papers. She said that these interactions are organised by department societies in the college.

Anupam Varshney Sharma, who teaches zoology at the college, said, “We had a meeting with teachers in charge of other departments and the principal as students were facing problems. We thought it would be better if students could connect with recent graduates as the latter would be able to give valuable inputs.”

Unlike August, when students were allowed to email answer scripts, the university has issued strict guidelines this time -- undergraduate students will only be allowed to submit answer scripts through the examination portal. Dean (examinations) DS Rawat said the glitches that came up during the last OBE were addressed by the varsity’s computer centre.