Jamia cancels ‘pen and paper’ exams, will assess students online
In May, the university had said it would conduct offline exams for final-year students only if the Covid-19 situation in the city improved.
Amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the national capital in recent days, Jamia Millia Islamia on Monday announced that it was cancelling offline exams, or pen-and-paper exams, for its final-year students.
In May, the university had said it would conduct offline exams for final-year students only if the Covid-19 situation in the city improved.
However, the standing academic council last week decided not to go forward with the offline exams as cases are rising in the city. “The conduct of examination in the offline mode was found to be non-viable as the same may further compromise the well-being of students who are from different states,” the committee noted while referring to the increased number of Covid-19 cases in the city.
The assessment of all final-year students, including undergraduate, postgraduate and MPhil, as well as PhD scholars, would be done on the basis of online exams.
Teachers can use different modes of evaluation such as assignments, dissertations, or objective questions. Practical exams will also be conducted online via interviews and viva voce. Teachers have been asked to upload marks on the portal by June 20, media coordinator Ahmad Azeem said.
A senior university official, requesting anonymity, said, “We had kept both online and offline modes in mind while planning the evaluation. During the online classes that were conducted earlier, we had asked teachers to collect online assignments and evaluate students based on those. This plan was put in place so that teachers could use these marks in case offline exams are not held.”
Students of intermediate semesters are already being evaluated on the basis of online assignments. The university said that according to the University Grants Commission guidelines, no request for redressal or re-evaluation shall be admissible from such students.
Discussions on our class group mostly revolved around concerns that there will be no re-evaluation or redressal. Students who had internet issues managed to submit their assignments with the help of friends,” said Shruty Yadav, a final-year undergraduate student, who is submitting around 20 assignments. The number of assignments submitted by students varied from course to course.
“Students who could not appear for their papers as part of the odd semester exams held in the month of December 2019 and February 2020, owing to disruption due to walkout/boycott shall also be allowed to appear in a special examination held in September and October along with compartment exams,” the controller of exams said in a notice.