Travelling all the way to Capital only to appear for online mode

new delhi: As the Delhi University's second phase of the open-book examinations (OBEs) began on Monday, several students, especially visually-impaired students and others under the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category faced a slew of issues with many complaining that the varsity had neither provided them with scribes nor with any study material.

To attend the exam, Deepak Gupta, a visually impaired student pursuing masters at St Stephens College had to travel from Bihar only to find out that the university will not be providing them with a scribe.

"I was supposed to give the exam at a centre but upon coming here I realised that the university will not be providing a scribe, which is why I had to arrange one. An NGO helped me and many others like me with scribes, they have also given me a place to stay and now I will be giving the exams online," he said.

Nearly 3,000 final-year postgraduates, PG and undergraduate students are appearing for the second phase at the centres while around 10,000 others have signed up for the online mode.

Deepak said that many visually had to travel like him, while no arrangement for scribes was made for them. No study material was also provided to them, according to the students. Significantly, the Delhi High Court while hearing the OBE matters had held DU responsible for providing scribes to visually-impaired students who opted for it and also directed the varsity to provide study material.

Students who were unable to upload answers in the first phase and those who could not take it online are appearing in the second phase.

There are about 19 specially-abled and 48 visually impaired students who will be giving the online exams, according to the data shared by DU's Dean of Examinations DS Rawat. Meanwhile, six specially-abled and 11 visually impaired students have applied from the School of Open Learning.

Varsity officials have said that students appearing for the physical exam must bring their own answer sheets and writing material. They added that seating plans had been sent to students in advance. The colleges have been instructed to follow social-distancing norms and sanitation practices as guided by the Centre strictly.

Alok, a general BA student who had come from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh to give the exam said that even though there was no technical difficulty, he is skeptical about how teachers are going to handle the papers. "I am sure there is a lot of confusion for professors. But I personally didn't face any issues like the site crash because we didn't have to upload the answer sheet, we simply had to email it," he said.

Coming from a humble background, Alok said he had several difficulties due to which he could not give the exam in the first phase. "I have internet issues in my village, which makes it difficult to access anything. We had gone to the court but then the decision came and there was no other choice but to give the exam," he

added.