Delhi University is set to conduct OTB (open textbook) final exams for its students in their final semester. DU is not the only university in Delhi, however, and thousands of students studying in GGSIPU (Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University) and DPSRU (Delhi Pharmaceutical Sciences and Research University) have been left perplexed by the clashing instructions issued by the government of Delhi and the UGC (University Grant Commission).
The Deputy Chief Minister, and State Education Minister of Delhi, has instructed all state-run universities to not conduct any examinations, even for students in their final semesters. However, as per the guidelines established by the UGC, the validities of degrees issues without conducting assignments can be called into question, as the exams are considered necessary to evaluate students on the specialised elective courses they take in their final years.
Six out of the eight Delhi government-run universities have already conducted their final exams, while the two aforementioned universities remain. GGSIPU is home to 140 colleges, with 35000 students in their final semesters, which raises many logistical issues as far as exam conduction is concerned.
The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Mahesh Verma, has made his stance clear on the matter, “We are not conducting any examinations because we are following Delhi Government’s orders. UGC has its own stand and Delhi is not alone in this matter. Other states are also facing the same problem. Anyway, till August 31 the university is closed, still, we are open for the proposal for the examination in case the impact of COVID will reduce.”
Vice-Chancellor of DPSRU, Ramesh Goyal, has also expressed his views on the potential issues caused by this mismatch, “We are all set but we have cancelled the examination right now. We have written to Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) and they told us that you can delay the examination by one year but the papers have to clear.” He went on to say, “We are planning in a way that not even a single student loses time. We have convinced 80% of students for examination but meanwhile, guidelines came so no one is coming in front.
We have given three options to students the first one was an online examination, the second one was an offline examination but that might take some time, the third option is that we are providing degrees as per the Delhi government guidelines, but in that case, we cannot give a guarantee if registration won’t happen and any problem in job happens.”
One of the two organisations will have to budge and cooperate with the other, as the lives and futures of thousands of students hang in the balance of these exams.
