Students in fix as DU begins online classes

new delhi: As online classes for Delhi University students start, technical issues have forced many to find alternative ways to attend lectures. Students have said that some of them had to leave homes and come back to Delhi so they can have uninterrupted access.

Students have also raised the issue of long lectures as numerous students, who are accessing online classes, as universities are shut in wake of the pandemic. Students from Lady Sri Ram College (LSR) have written emails to the administration raising the issue.

"We have classes from 8:35 am to about 5 pm some days and these are consecutive classes, with a few breaks, which was why we started raising the issue, as this is causing a lot of inconvenience to students. Because in physical and online classrooms the needs are different," an English Honours student from the college said.

An Economics Honours student said that there is a huge technological divide, which is hard to ignore. "For my course, this semester one paper requires me to have access to a device as I am being taught programming languages but I am not equipped with one, which clearly creates a form of exclusion. In college, this gap could have been bridged through the labs but the administration has not done anything to help students like us," she said.

A student from South Kashmir came to his PG as he was not able to attend the lectures. The student had continuous classes from 8 am to almost 2 pm.

Meanwhile, after the DU claimed it had already "taken a lot of flak" over OBEs, the Delhi High Court moved proceedings in the matter to "in-camera hearing" as reporters were asked to exit the video conference.