Final semester exams for undergraduate courses under Mumbai University will commence in April. The university announced the exam commencement dates on Thursday, March 3. A decision on the mode of exams (online/in-person), however, is still awaited. Meanwhile, the Times of India reported that some autonomous colleges, such as St Xaviers, Mithibai and Sophia's have decided to hold pen-and-paper exams. Some others are awaiting the university's decision.
The Mumbai University's semester VI exams for B Com are scheduled from April 19, they are taken by the highest number of candidates. The exams for allied courses in Commerce will be held in the first week of May. For BSc and BA, semester VI exams are scheduled from April 21.
A principal told TOI, for the exams to be held offline, a lot of preparations will have to be made. "Students who are not in the city have to return, everyone needs to be fully vaccinated, SOPs will have to be drawn up," he said. The university had earlier announced that all semesters of traditional courses, except semester 2, will be held online and most exams for professional courses will be held in-person."
On the other hand, St Xavier's College put out a notice on March 4 announcing in-person exams for the undergraduate students appearing for semesters II, IV, and VI and for postgraduate students appearing for semesters II and IV.
A teacher from Sophia's College said that in-person exams will have a mix of descriptive and multiple choice questions. Students will be expected to write short answers for descriptive questions as many may have lost writing practice during the pandemic, she added.
The college, however, is yet to release an official notice regarding the mode of exams. Mithibai College will also hold in-person exams. Ramnarain Ruia College has, so far, decided to hold in-person only for postgraduate exams.
