DU's MA Eng students irked with datesheet

For students of MA English at Delhi University, change is the only constant factor. The exam date sheet for final year students has been changed six times already this semester.

For students of MA English at Delhi University, change is the only constant factor. The exam date sheet for final year students has been changed six times already this semester. The latest change came on Monday, four days before their exams begin.

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Though the dates of the first and the last exam were not changed, the schedule of the exams in between has been shuffled.

"In the past two weeks, the university has just shifted dates within the same time frame. You can't do it four days before the exam. Our preparation gets affected adversely," said Jhinuk Mukhopadhyay, a student.

According to the first date sheet, the exams were scheduled to start on April 28 and end on May 13.

The date sheet has since then been changed six times.

The exams now begin on May 13 and end on May 31. Students have also been given more time to prepare in between papers, which was not done when they were in the first year.

"Last time it was changed because the M Phil entrance examination at Jawaharlal Nehru University was clashing with the DU exams. That was justified. But till when will this go on?" asked Neha Bhasin, another student.

But the university is not to be blamed entirely.

Students themselves have petitioned against prior date sheets.

"What can we do? One or the other group of students keeps objecting to the date sheet," said Sumanyu Satpathy, head of the English department.

"Previously, final exams used to get over by mid-May. This year, the calendar has been pushed deep into the summer. This is actually the time for entrance examinations in other universities. We can't blame the students. We are being sympathetic to them," Satpathy added.

But the current date sheet is "non-negotiable".

"We can't keep changing it. This date sheet is final," Satpathy said.