It is that time of the year again that a lot of students of the University of Delhi dread. Last year, they saw their seniors raise their voice against the university's decision to conduct online Open Book Examinations (OBE). However, a lot of pleas and petitions later, the university went ahead with the examination, much to the displeasure of students and teachers.
This year too, while the university is bracing to conduct OBEs for its students, a lot of them have collectively joined hands, asking the administration to cancel examinations altogether, owing to the deadly second wave of the pandemic. Student Unions of 22 colleges, including the Lady Shri Ram College for Women and the St Stephen's College, who do not come under the ambit of the ABVP-ruled DU Students' Union, has now written to the UGC, seeking cancellation.
"A lot of students have suffered directly and indirectly due to the pandemic. They have had COVID, lost family members or are working towards arranging resources for patients. They never got the time to prepare for the exams," says Karthika Sajeev, the president of the LSRSU. While she adds that the students are equipped to attempt the OBE, they are not in the mindset to do so. "We had also conducted a survey among the LSR students, where the majority wanted internal assessments instead of exams," she says.
Karthika adds that the students are frustrated about not receiving any response from the authorities. "We have done everything possible. Still, the authorities are turning a blind eye," she says. "We strongly believe that if held, exams will only put students under an unimaginable amount of stress as many of them might not even be able to appear," reads the students' letter. "We propose that the results be calculated using the aggregate of marks in previous semesters as well as internal assessments that were conducted this semester," it adds.
Recently, the DU Teachers' Association (DUTA) had also asked the university to cancel its examinations altogether. However, the university hasn't changed their stance.
