DU students, teachers protest against open book online exams

New Delhi: Students and teachers from Delhi University have raised objections to the online open book examinations for all

final year/term students planned by the administration.

Both the student and teachers union have written to the administration demanding them to take back the order.

Students say that to conduct examinations during a time of pandemic, where many students are home and may not have accessible internet is ignorance. Speaking to Millennium Post Delhi University student Aadil, who hails from Kashmir, said it is like putting extra mental stress on students.

"Few days back I came to know from the University that it is going to conduct online exams. In these times when whole world is facing the pandemic and has completely failed to get control over it, University of Delhi is just increasing the mental stress of student community by putting forth these notices regarding online exam.

Students like me belonging to the part of Kashmir where our government feels it unnecessary to let the students of Kashmir avail online education, by banning 4G internet will be in great loss," he said.

Aadil added that the university should consider students like him who neither have proper studying material nor internet.

Meanwhile, with students all over the university protesting this decision,Delhi University's Teachers Association (DUTA)wrote to DU's Vice-Chancellor also stepped in to

register its "strong protest for this manner of functioning" adopted by the University administration.

Condemning the "bureaucratic approach" of the administration in a letter to VC Yogesh Tyagi, the Association highlighted the exclusion of the elected teacher representatives to the "Working Group on Examinations."

Meanwhile, DU's Students Federation of India (SFI) condemned the decision and said, "There is a blatant disregard for the economically backward, who do not possess computers, laptops, mobile, scanner, etc.

Technical glitches and poor power retention in devices, malfunctioning gadgets, etc. are also issues that may arise that will compromise uniformity in the examination procedure ultimately becoming a test of privilege and accessibility to the best of technological resources. The administration has turned a blind eye towards the plight of disabled students also."

A student from Delhi University who lives in Kashmir said that he was mid-session in his online class when the internet was completely shut down due to the recent encounters in Pulwama.

"This is distressing," he said.