DU degree delay: Students say future is in jeopardy

Delhi University students worry about procuring their degree in time to ascertain a ‘bright’ future.

“Our degrees will get delayed because of the innumerable problems that we have been facing with online exams and other concerns,” says Kavita Behera, BA (Hons) Economics, Janki Devi Memorial College (JDMC), who is one among the many DU students worrying about UGC’s stand — No exam, No degree.

The annual convocation of Delhi University is quite a spectacle of jubilation; but this year it won’t be the same due to Covid-19. (PHOTO: Raj K Raj/HT (Photo For Representational Purposes Only))

Elaborating on why getting a degree on time will be a challenge even for students attempting Open Book Examination, Behera adds, “The paper is very lengthy, the site stopped working, the teachers were messaging constantly to submit answer sheets and it created a lot of panic to upload the written answers within the given time period. I doubt if would be able to score well. And of course, if I don’t score well this is going to show on my maksheet. The completion of our graduation has already been delayed because of the pandemic; now our future has been compromised further because of open book exams (OBE).”

Some students who had planned to opt for offline exams, ie exams in ink and paper, due to their bitter experience with the mock tests are now finding themselves in midst of a conundrum. “Initially, I was planning to give exam in offline mode, and start working by showing a conditional degree. However, UGC recently mentioned that the degree will only be given once we have written our exams. Without even a conditional degree in hand, which company will accept me? The online mode of examinations is rampant with problems and I don’t want to risk scoring low by giving online exams where students run out of time to finish and struggle to even download question papers, but a scenario of a half baked degree is any day better than no degree,” says Sanjay Kataria, who is pursuing masters in Department of Library and Information Science.

And students who have enrolled themselves for Open Book Exams (OBE) have also complained of major technical snags that ensure a further delay in final marksheet. “Our future is in jeopardy because students aren’t able to give online exams while attempting OBE! Students during political science exam got two different question papers. This lead to a lot of confusion. University authorities later said that the second one is the actual question paper. What about those who attempted the first one, like me? Will those students now have to give another attempt at online exams or wait to give it in offline mode? This will lead to a delay in getting our final marksheet and subsequently a delay in the degree. How will the students apply for higher education in that case,” asks Sneha Sarah Shaji, a student o Political Science (Hons), Hindu College.

Author tweets @FizzyBuddha

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