As the University of Delhi is gearing up to conduct an online open-book examination, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown, a survey conducted by the students of Delhi University's Sree Ram College of Commerce reveals that 73 per cent of the students do not have access to their study materials right now. The students, who conducted the survey among over 600 of their peers, also suggested that an online open-book examination is impractical in the current scenario considering that most faculty haven't completed the syllabi and most students do not have access to a fast internet connection.
"We conducted the survey as soon as we got to know about the university's decision to conduct the examination. This seemed like an impractical option," says Aastha Singla, a student of the college. "We had surveyed around 600 students before arriving at this conclusion. A lot of us do not have access to study materials right now. We had gone home for the mid-semester break when the lockdown was announced. We had no option of going back and getting our books," she says.
In case you're wondering how many, 81 per cent of the respondents stated that their syllabus is incomplete. The surveyors say that the academic calendar mandates that the faculty finish the syllabus by May 15. After the nationwide lockdown was imposed, the university had asked its faculty to conduct classes online. However, this had created a lot of hue and cry among the students, as well as the faculty, who alleged that a lot of students do not have access to required gadgets and/or a fast internet connection. However, in the survey, 37 per cent of the students say that online classes were not conducted for them and 43 per cent say that they weren't able to attend classes regularly.
The students also noted that the university doesn't have a system in place to monitor the students to avoid malpractice during the examination. "If somebody wants to cheat on an exam, they have all the freedom to do that. An open book examination only makes this easier," says Farah Rafeeq, another student. "On top of this, a lot of our classmates are from Kashmir, who have no access to an internet connection," she adds.
The students, who note that offline examinations are also impossible, in the current scenario, have suggested a solution to this problem. Their survey report reads, "The suggestion is to mark the students on the basis of 50 per cent Internal Assessment Marks and the rest on the basis of their average marks scored in the previous semester."
