exams Archives - Page 5 of 10 - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

News

Students Fear Breach of Secrecy in Semester Exam

By Raabiya May 16, 2018

The qualifying chemistry examination held for the master’s programme has come under scrutiny for breach of secrecy. Students suspect malicious intent by the Head of the Department.

The question under attack

In the inorganic chemistry examination, students of semester IV in the varsity’s M.Sc. (Chemistry) course were asked a 10-mark question — “Write a brief note about the presentation assigned to you in class.”

This question became problematic as each student had prepared a unique presentation and answer sheets for semester-end papers that are checked internally.

Students incriminate HOD

During the month of March, students and teachers alleged Prof. Ramesh Chandra, the head of the department, to have sexually harassed them. This led to a protest by the students, and a student in a statement to The Indian Express said, “We have already been threatened once — that we will be failed for protesting. Now this question intends to victimise us when we are in the last year of our masters’ degree. We had written to the examination department but nothing happened.”

Alarmed, a total number of 118 students had raised a complaint to the Dean of Examinations asking them to bar a few professors suspected to err in an unbiased marking scheme. Their request was ignored and the examination was held on May 9, regardless.

Ramesh Chandra’s response

In response to the alleged bias, Prof. Ramesh Chandra told The Indian Express, “Questions are set by teachers in the department and evaluated by them, so writing about the project is not going to cost students anything. They protested against the issue but that issue is over. Why would I want to identify them? Everything is done as per merit and a select few are politicising the issue.”

University policy to prevent bias

The varsity has set norms and procedures to prevent any bias from either side of the examination by removing identifiable aspects such as name and internally assigned roll number from answer sheets before they are sent for evaluation.

According to Ordinance X-A, “deliberately disclosing one’s identity or making any distinctive mark in the answer book for that purpose.” is considered as unfair and dishonest means. The applicability of said ordinance to the question in scrutiny and its consequence remains unclear.

Feature Image Credits: Dept. of Chemistry, DU

Raabiya

Uncategorized

Beating the heat this exam season

By DU Beat May 8, 2018

We realise that the heat has made exam season even more unbearable, folks. We have been tinkering with this problem all summer. Here is what we have unearthed.

As we breathe in the parched air of the exam halls, we look at ink-stained fingers and the slouched shoulders and the empty water bottles, desperate for a respite from the exams and from the blinding scorching heat. Here are our favourite tips for beating the heat while we have our noses buried in books:

Stay hydrated: This might not be the most original idea, but it has stood the test of time. Turns out keeping your body hydrated during exams might mean you end up actually not eating your hair at the end of a study session. So, keep those liquids near you, kids!

Sun blockers: Please don’t make the mistake of stepping out of the house without that shield, folks. Your skin is the largest organ of your body and deserves some care as well. I leave it to you to choose the brand; just keep your skin type in mind.

Quick bites: For mid-study session meals, opt for hydrating and refreshing fruits like watermelon or fresh veggies like cucumber. They not only hydrate your body and keep you healthy; you can almost trick yourself into thinking you can finally get off of those baggy junk foods. You can also infuse your water with fruits; just buy an infuser bottle and add some refreshing and citric fruits and mint to it. This will give all the fruit-lovers out there some incentive to go through some plain, boring old water.

Change your hairdo: Go a little bonkers this exam season and change your haircut or hairstyle. If you’ve always wanted to chop off your hair, this is the best possible time to debut a pixie cut or long bob. Keeping your hair off the back of your neck will help you cool down your body temperature. And if anyone asks you what happened, blame it on the Kardashians.

Take more showers: This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Whether you want to hibernate inside your tub for a few hours every day or take quicker baths multiple times a day, we promise not to judge. Just make sure you don’t let multiple showers dry out your skin by moisturising afterwards.

Happy Studying!

Feature Image Credits: Akarsh Mathur for DU Beat

Sara Sohail

DUB Speak

The Shortcomings of Practical Classes and Exams in the Varsity

By Sandeep Samal May 7, 2018

Practical classes are supposed to help the students relate to and execute the matter they acquired while reading theory in textbooks. This helps in attaching an additional dimension of reality to the theoretical fraction of studies. Other than just helping the students acquire the knowledge better, the drill of practicals should be able to invoke interest in the students’ mind. The practical classes’ help students get intimated with the application of the subject, to experience it in real-time. Understanding of a subject cannot always be expanded within the four walls of a classroom. Theoretical knowledge is of no use unless it is tried and tested in the field. Hence, practicals aim to ensure complete impartation of knowledge in a wholesome manner.

However, in the contemporary times, the methodology of conducting practical classes is redundant. The rigorous method of conducting these non-theory classes is stealing the charm of the practice. Overloading the students with numerous experiments within a semester’s time frame adds to the burden of the curriculum. Students do not put much effort to understand the experiment, but just focus on updating the practical files and getting it verified by the supervisor. Students get reeled in the process, sometimes without gaining as much as an ounce of the practical knowledge. This renders the whole system of ‘learning by doing’ monotonous.

Sometimes there is inconsistency and lag between the theoretical knowledge and experiment in the students’ mind. There are instances when a student is absolutely clueless about the experiment and the governing principle underlying it. Performing an experiment without the knowledge of the basics and background makes it counterproductive. It is crucial to have a solid understanding of concepts before attempting an experiment.

In a lot of government funded institutes spread across the country, labs are not well equipped to perform an experiment meticulously. Apparatus and gadgets do not work precisely. This creates a major hurdle in performing the experiment.

There are labs which are being maintained and supervised by under-skilled lab technicians. They fail to guide the students properly which creates a lot of chaos and confusion.

Due to the synergistic impact of the above-mentioned factors, practical exams are a major headache for the students concerned. They have only increasingly become rigorous and problematic. The practical exams are progressively becoming like theory exams with no restricted real elements. They have not been imparting knowledge; rather these practicals are overburdening students. Practical exams should provide respite from the monotonous lectures; however, status quo reflects a different story. These exams should be designed in a way that inculcates teamwork among students. The University should see that experiments promote self-learning and students essentially gain from such an exercise.

Feature Image Credits: Daily Bouncer

Sandeep Samal

DUB Speak

Why Attendance Marks are Unfair

By DU Beat April 12, 2018

One of the most debatable regulations of the University of Delhi is that of attendance marks. Not only does it restrict one’s right to choice, but also poses as a forceful and logically unfair rule. Though the concept of minimum attendance can still be logically debated, attendance marks must be scrapped.

One of the most debatable regulations of DU is the allocation of marks in accordance with percentage attendance.

Clause 2.2.3. (http://grs.du.ac.in/Important%20University%20Rules.htm)

There shall be 5% weightage for attending lectures regularly. The credit rating is as follows:

67-70%: 1 Mark
70-75%: 2 Marks
75-80%: 3 Marks
80-85%: 4 Marks
85% above: 5 marks

Though this should not be considered an objection to the minimum attendance criteria, marks for attendance is not a fair practice and can easily be ruled out with reason if the authorities are willing to listen.

It is an almost ‘forceful’ method of making the students attend the classes and is based on the wrong assumption that marks, an indication of a student’s capability and understanding of the curriculum, will increase in relation to the number of days one attends college. College is a student’s choice and the people who are genuinely interested in the lecture will attend it irrespective of this, while the others who attend college for the 5 “free marks” end up disrupting the teaching-learning process entirely. The college logic is somewhat like:at the age of 18, our students, who have the right to vote for who governs us will definitely not have the intelligence to decide how many classes they must attend. It needs to be understood that the ‘students’ they are teaching have already developed their character, thoughts, and decision making power. It is not logical to thus, regulate matters of their ability to choose.

Instead of keeping marks as the incentive, DU should work on making its classes interesting enough for students to attend on their own. They must note the attendance in order to judge the classroom experience. When teachers know that to avoid teaching empty classrooms they’d have to work hard, it is sure to raise the level of teaching!Furthermore, it is important to note that not all the students live in the same proximity to the campus. Some students are one hundred twenty minutes away, while some others live right inside the campus. The proximity makes the task of attending the classes difficult or easier respectively,and is therefore, not fair to all. Last minute cancellation of classes or a single class a day further discourages students who live far away from attending college.

Marks are supposed to be given to those students who are aware about the course they are pursuing. However, this rule is just a like a transaction of time to gain marks. Just by attending classes one cannot guarantee that the student has gained any more information about the subject. It is important to see how this system also leads to partial score inflation. Aftera student’s score on tests or other assessments increases,it does not reflect any genuine improvements in learning. Due to this, the final marks of a student with less aptitude may even be greater than that of student with more aptitude. Attendance has turned just into a formality! It is now rather the reverse psychology that further demotivates the students.

Darshita Sharma, a student from Sri Ventakeshwara College, says, “This actually moulds the student’s mind in a way where they just have to fight for marks.Relating marks with everything will not really help educating students.”

Furthermore, it needs to be mentioned that learning can happen outside the classroom too! One’s CV is not decorated by marks alone. One needs to indulge in extra curriculum, internships, and work experience in order to make one’s impression. These don’t always provide ECA or work according to the college timings and therefore, are the easiest way to lose out on attendance. However, the student is still gaining practical knowledge; something that can never happen within the classroom. But it is reflected badly on the CV with lesser marks.

Lastly, it should not be thought that it is a drastic new change. DU’s FYUP had done away with this ordeal and it’s time to scrap it for the others too.

Professor Jenny from the English Department of Miranda House is one amongst the many lecturers who disagrees with the system. Providing alternatives, she said, “Instead of hyper focusing on attendance, we need to give more importance to creating syllabi that is relevant for students from diverse social locations , move out of the boring lecture mode of teaching , have smaller classrooms and make the classroom a more interesting and interactive space. For this we need more funding in education and a rethinking of educational policies, both at the primary and higher levels.”

Image Credits : TimeSheets

Khyati Sanger
[email protected]

DUB Speak

An Overview of the Revaluation Process

By Vijeata Balani February 3, 2018

The process of revaluation is inclusive of correcting and marking answer scripts again while rechecking refers to the totalling up of marks received to avoid calculation-based errors. This system was done away with in 2013 on the premise that answer scripts are jointly invigilated, but it was again reinforced following protests. Since then, DU has introduced a restriction that only theory papers of non-professional courses can be sent for revaluation.

To apply for revaluation, the student should fill the application form available on the DU website and should submit it to the nearest centre within two to three weeks after the declaration of the result. For revaluation, a fee of INR 1,000 is required to be submitted along with a copy of the candidate’s recent scorecard. The application form should be verified and attested by the Principal or Head of the Department. An extremely pertinent point to remember in the entire process is that the student will have to surrender his/her original marks and accept the revised result.

The revised result can be any of the following – an increase in the mark, a decrease, or no change. Therefore, a student should apply for revaluation only if he/she has reasons to believe that his/ her marks are less than expected. It should be kept in mind that rechecking is a strenuous process which should not be taken as lightly as it is by students. A paper shuffles from one examiner to the head invigilator, and so on. Students should consult their friends and teachers before sending the application.

Once the application form has been filled by the student, it should be submitted to the nearest Revaluation Cell Counter. The counter can be found in the Examination Branches of both campuses. The updated result will be published on the DU website under the results portal after four to five months. It usually comes in right before the next semester’s result. The entire procedure and rules are described on the Delhi University website and should be browsed well to avoid errors.

Important points for revaluation

1. The application form for revaluation is available on the university website, www.du.ac.in. The application must be submitted within 15 days from the date of publication of results.

2. The fee for revaluation is INR 1,000 per paper and must be paid to the University of Delhi along with the application.

3. A photocopy of the statement of marks for verification of roll number is required. The photocopy should be inclusive of the marks of the subject which is being revaluated. This document must be verified by the Principal or the Head of the Department and must contain the official stamp and signature of the authorities.

4. Candidates are advised to submit their request to Revaluation Cell Counter. The Examination Branches of both campuses receive the revaluation forms. The timings for public dealing are from 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m.

5. The result may be issued by post or uploaded on the university website within 45-60 days of the submission of the form. The marks may increase, decrease, or not change at all, but result after revaluation is final.

6. Revaluation is not undertaken for practical or professional courses. The student must carry his/her admit card along with a self?addressed envelope of 9”x 4” size with a postal stamp worth Rs. 5 affixed thereon when submitting the application form.

Image Credits: Pin Art

Bhavya Banerjee

Vijeata Balani

DUB Speak

How to Get the Best Out of Exam Gaps

By DU Beat December 6, 2017

The five tried-and-tested ways to ensure that the precious days between your examinations are best utilised.

It is always heartening when the exam schedule comes up and you find a lot of gaps in between the papers. Pledges are made at the very moment that this time, not an hour would be wasted. But come December and the pledges are all forgotten. New plans come up and studies are procrastinated for the last day, or more specifically, for the last night.

If you feel that your current schedule needs refining, read on the five following methods to ensure that this does not happen to you this time again.

1. Make your plan on your way home

So you’re done with today’s paper and it could have gone better. Your brain would tell you not to panic as you can study better for the next exam and make up for the previous sins. Here is your moment to act. Do not let the brain’s inspiration fade- take out a pen and a paper and make study plans for the next exam, over the gaps, at the very moment.

2. Wake up early on the first gap day

The first day of the extended gap sets the tune for the remaining days. So in place of binge-watching the night after the exam, understand that the battle is not over. Hit the bed early and wake up earlier on the first gap day. Go through the schedule and start.

3. All night is good, but not night-to-morning
One really can’t help studying till 1 or 2 in the night, or even if not studying, be fidgeting with the phone. Here is the trick- step out of your study mode with the very first wave of sleep, put an alarm for the 6th hour from then, and sleep. If you extend your awake time till 4 or 5 in the morning, you’re bound to spoil the next day.

4. Don’t overburden yourself
Understand your body’s limits. Do not make plans for 18 hours of study if you normally study for 3 hours. Take it easy and everything would work out just fine. Don’t give up on yourselves even if you aren’t able to stick to your schedule on the first day. After all, every new day is a new chance.

5. Don’t allow yourselves any new plans
Everyone has those friends who party, take trips, and hang out during the gaps and procrastinate for the last hour. Do not fall into their lure and stick to your plans. Understand how much your score would mean to you, your report card and your parents.

Feature Image- WikiHow

Nikhil Kumar
[email protected]

DUB Speak

A Realistic Approach to an Exam Gone Bad

By DU Beat November 30, 2017

Exams are the most exhaustive sets of draining procedures that a student faces at least twice a year; there is no escape from this vicious trap. Most of the times, unfortunately, owing to whatever reasons, exams don’t go the way we want. What can be done in such cases?

Exams paint a student’s face with grim expressions and usually account for the most horrifying experiences in one’s life. (cue: class 12th Boards.) Nevertheless, students push their limits by pulling themselves out of their comfort zones to study, and that too for weeks straight. They summarise, compile, re-write, learn, and re-learn their notes. They don’t sleep (so to say) and survive almost entirely on caffeine.

Most of the times, unfortunately, owing to whatever reasons, exams don’t go the way we want it. We walk out of the examination room feeling disappointed and dejected, getting into a self-loathing mode. The thought of not performing well in an exam dramatically reduces our productivity and affects our performance in the subsequent examinations too. Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to get over a bad exam and we should get out of it as soon as possible.

Firstly, it is imperative that we remain positive throughout that time. Thinking about all the other invaluable knowledge that one gains in the process of learning through continuous reading can help in lessening the brunt. There’s a high possibility that whatever you are reading now will be applied under future circumstances, or you may even get an opportunity to study the same subject in the future. Bad marks don’t define the depth of your knowledge in that particular subject, and it certainly does not measure anyone’s ability to achieve success in their aspired fields. In the long run, nobody even remembers marks.

If the above seems outlandish talk to you, just remember that there are always methods to improve your performance in the next paper. If you have a gut feeling that your answers warrant an F grade, you can appear for the same subject next year. Albeit it would be an added burden, anything is better than being rewarded a ‘back’ in any subject.

However, to arrive at the decision to reappear for any exam, you need to be thoroughly sure of your decision. Just because you think your performance was poor in any exam doesn’t necessarily mean your overall grade average would fall drastically too. For example, in the first semester, if there’s a possibility of scoring low marks in any of the Ability Enhancement Compulsory Courses, your overall marks would not be as severely affected, because the weightage given to AECC subjects is given 4 credits in comparison to 6 for the rest. Moreover, if you score near full marks in your internal examinations, the extent to which your performance in the final exam would affect your overall score would be lessened.

Despite all this, the best way to deal with a poor exam performance is to introspect with an open mind. This is where we give ourselves space to analyze how things could have been done differently. Allow yourself some emotional ‘grieving’ but don’t torture yourself. Expect to feel measures of anger, disappointment, despair or nonchalance, but move on from each stage. The time has passed, it’s best to box-up that experience and be hopeful about the future.(i.e by putting in greater efforts in subsequent papers!)

Feature Image Credits: The Odyssey

Sandeep Samal

News

Server Failure During CAT Exam Creates Havoc

By DU Beat November 29, 2017

CAT 2017 was conducted last Sunday in 140 cities across the country. In the most parts of India, the exam ran without any hassle. However, around two hundred aspirants who appeared at a Kalkaji Centre in Delhi suffered major delay and confusion.

In a shocking incident, around two hundred candidates appearing for CAT 2017 at On line Edu Solutions, a test centre at Kalkaji, Delhi were unable to take the test in their designated slot due to technical glitches. Owing to the delay, students whose exam was scheduled for the morning slot (9 a.m. – 12 p.m) could write their paper at 4:30 after they were moved to other centres at Noida and Greater Noida.

Candidates at the centre had to sit for one hour after the commencement of the exam as the systems started failing. They were told that the technical glitches are being faced by all the centres in the country. Around noon, when the candidates started getting restless the head of the institution informed that only their centre was facing the server failure and not all the centres in the country. This irked the students and parents.

P.N. Shivani, a CAT aspirant who had to take the exam in the second slot in the same centre, witnessed the whole scene. Speaking to DU Beat about the state of confusion and stress which unfolded at the venue she said, ‘There was a lot of commotion and ruckus outside the examination centre. Parents were worried and wreaked havoc at the centre out of anxiety.’
At around 2 p.m. in the afternoon, six buses were reportedly arranged for the candidates to be moved to other test centres in Noida and Greater Noida. Out of 250 students, only 60 students could take the exam during the scheduled time period.

Feature Image Credits: India Mart

Sandeep Samal
[email protected]

Campus Central

The Ongoing War: Attendance Vs Admit Card

By DU Beat November 26, 2017

As mid-semester examination are approaching, the age old tension of attendance shortage is being clearly visible on many students faces. With lots of hustle and bustle, students manage to get a high percentage to land in India’s best university but then the monster of attendance still manages to get a 100% in every educational institution.
Let’s hear what the experts have to say on this at Quora:

“This really depends on which college you’re in. Some colleges are super strict about these rules, and some are super relaxed. To give you an example of the range, I know people who’ve had no problem collecting admit cards for their exams with 4% attendance, along with people who’ve had to sign bonds for 65% attendance, just to be able to site for exams. The fluctuations happen because even though the University has a common guideline of 67% attendance, colleges end up making their individual rules for attendance requirements. Depending on how seriously your college takes this matter, the possible consequences are: Relaxed attendance rules

Go ahead and collect your admit card, without any hassles.

Moderately strict rules

You’ll have to sign a bond that says that you’ll maintain the required attendance mark in the coming semester.

Very strict rules + Very low attendance%

You’ll be debarred from the exams, and parents might be involved. This situation might incite hunger strikes and protests from the affected students in the college.”

As per 2016, sources said that more than 100 students, whose attendance was below 66.67 per cent, have been detained across all colleges in the University. While some colleges such as Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (DDU) College has detained 48 students, Dyal Singh College has detained 55 students across 15 courses. “We have detained 48 students this semester across all courses. Their continuation in the college is subject to two conditions — if they have cleared their first semester papers, then they will come back next year when the incumbent batch reaches the second semester. But if the student has not cleared his first semester papers, but has been detained in the second semester too, he will lose his seat in the college,” said SK Garg, principal, DDU College.

Now only the dates of receiving admit card will decide if medical certificates can still save the students’ careers!

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Naimisha