Delhi University's (DU) science teachers and students are finding themselves hard pressed for time as the varsity's exams draw closer.
While the humanities and commerce departments conclude their classes on November 17, teaching in various science departments must necessarily conclude by the end of this month.The science practical exams starts at the beginning of November, while the theory exams start by November 22.
"A year's syllabus is packed into one semester and given the pace at which we have been teaching, it has become almost impossible for students to assimilate the content. There are no holidays in between for students to ingest what they study in class and it has put both teachers and students under tremendous stress," said Abha Dev Habib, professor of Physics, Miranda House.
While teachers fear that the current system will see a decline in the number of students who opt for science courses in future, students claim that the tight schedule has only resulted in more stress.
"Undergraduate science study has become an eyewash. All we do is mug up theoretical concepts. We have no time for practical work because of which we fumble during the practical exams. Our theory course is also being glossed over because we can't do anything in detail. The course content is huge and we have no time at all for self-study now," said Aman Mittal (name changed on request), a student of Hansraj College.
Teachers in other colleges, too, have the same thing to say, claiming that there is almost no room for them to take a breather from the hectic pace.
{{/usCountry}}Teachers in other colleges, too, have the same thing to say, claiming that there is almost no room for them to take a breather from the hectic pace.
{{/usCountry}}"We need to make up for two weeks and finish the syllabus by October 31 because other departments have time till November 17. We can't even take a single leave or fall sick because a day's loss will lead to a lot of problems in completing the syllabus. So we are all operating mechanically to finish it by this month," said Anju Aggarwal, professor, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College.