After the Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA), now the Executive and Academic Council of the Delhi University have urged the Vice-Chancellor Dr Yogesh K Tyagi to cancel the proposed Open Book Examination (OBE) which is scheduled for early July. The teachers requested the administration to look for alternative methods so that they can declare the results by July 31.
The teachers, in a letter to the VC, pointed out that the MHRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal and the UGC committee have not only agreed to cancel the board exams but also acknowledged the objections raised by teachers and students about OBE. They also added that the OBE is not only discriminatory as pointed out earlier by DUTA but also violates Statute 8 (XII) which says that these decisions are under the jurisdiction of the Academic Council. "The first and second-year students have been given final grades on the basis of an average of their internal assessment and past exam performances. The same thing can be applied to the graduating batch of students. In fact, it will work better with them, since there are more averaging points available in their case," said Dr Saikat Ghosh, a member of the AC.
The teachers said that not only 40 per cent of the DU students have access to uninterrupted connectivity. "Most final year students have suffered enormous mental anxiety during the period of the lockdown. Outstation students went home in a hurry and many were not able to carry all their textbooks with them. They never anticipated this continuous and prolonged period of lockdown," added the professor. "It will be utterly insensitive of the DU administration to remain aloof from these concerns and expect students to appear for exams. Expecting students from poorer families to go to CSCs to give their exam will unnecessarily expose them to the COVID infection. If any student is infected due to this, the university administration will be squarely responsible," he said.
The letter stated that the teachers have been in touch with the students and their parents constantly and have learnt the difficulties on-ground. "We hence feel duty-bound to urge you to immediately withdraw the notification and date-sheet for OBE and look at other credible methods that have already been adopted by universities in India and abroad. We believe that it is imperative that statutory processes are complied with so that appropriate and correct decision can be taken for timely declaration of results for all students by July 31," the letter said.
