Delay in last semester’s results likely to push Mumbai university exams to end of April

University officials have hinted that exams for final-year degree courses will start only at end of April instead of in the first week

The delay in assessment of papers and announcement of results for the last semester at the University of Mumbai (MU) has resulted in a cascading effect, with the exams for the current semester expected to be delayed.

The university will be conducting close to 470 exams for approximately 3.5 lakh students. (HT File Photo)

University officials, attending meetings, have hinted that exams for final-year degree courses will start only towards the end of April. Usually, the exams start in the first week of April.

The university will be conducting close to 470 exams for approximately 3.5 lakh students.

“Almost 1.5 lakh answer booklets are still pending for assessment and that will be followed by moderation as well. The plan is to start Allowed-To-Keep-Term (ATKT) exams by mid-March, but exams for fresh candidates will only begin in the last week of April,” said a senior official, who has been part of the discussions.

A meeting to decide dates for the upcoming examination schedule is scheduled to take place next week.

The university’s introduction of the On-Screen Marking (OSM) system in April 2017 for exam assessments led to a delay of almost five months in announcing results from the last semester. Not only did the delay affect students from last academic year as they waited for their results, but also students from the current academic year, as their winter exams as well as the academic schedule had to be postponed by a few weeks.

“Obviously this delay will reflect on the upcoming examination schedule, as colleges will have to adhere to minimum number of lecture days in a single semester. Every year the academic calendar is usually free by first week of March, but this year, we’ve been asked to continue with classes till the last week of March,” said the vice-principal of a suburban college.

Most colleges have managed to complete the portion for the current semester by conducting extra lectures on Sundays and other holidays in order to make it up for lost time.

As of now, discussions on the schedule for the upcoming examinations are still in the draft mode, said officials. “Tentative dates have been discussed, but the final decision is yet to be taken. Before confirming the schedule, the university will take the opinion of faculty heads, deans as well as others to make sure that it is acceptable,” said Vinod Malale, deputy registrar (public relations), examinations department, MU, adding that the final schedule for the summer examination session will be released in a couple of weeks.