Delhi University observed an impressive attendance of 98 per cent in the offline examinations, which were conducted for second and third-year undergraduate students on Wednesday, May 11. Amidst a gap of over two years and prolonged protests against offline exams, the attendance is noted to be quite admirable.
Two sessions, namely, morning and evening, were conducted and 67,948 students appeared. Comparatively, for the evening session, 99 per cent attendance was recorded. While 44,311 students appeared for exams in the morning session and 1,124 didn't; 23,637 out of 23,684 appeared for exams during the evening session, stated the university's Dean of Examination, DS Rawat, as reported by PTI.
"The number on the first day was impressive. I would say it is better than previous years. This has come despite inertia among students against the physical mode of examination. There were some protests as well," he said. Acknowledging the situation of students who missed exams due to COVID-19 infection or were under quarantine because their close ones tested positive, the Dean said, "Such students will be asked to provide medical certificates and they will be given another chance in August to give the exams."
Considering the plight of students appearing for exams after two years, the university took the initiative to grant an extra 30 minutes. Commenting on this, Rawat said, "The duration of exams of undergraduate, postgraduate, professional programmes is three hours and an additional 30 minutes are being provided as a special one-time measure." Prior to the exams, students protested, demanding Open Book Examinations. In support of this, a petition was filed in the Delhi High Court by several students. But, earlier this month, the court refused to interfere with the decision of the university.
