Delhi University (DU) has considered conducting the semester-end exams online with technical help from the Delhi University Computer Center (DUCC).
An extension of the nationwide lockdown has been announced by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi after an assessment of the COVID-19 spread, and in consultation with the Chief Ministers of the States. With no definite end in sight to the COVID-19 pandemic, Universities are being forced to consider alternatives to the normal semester-end examinations that usually take place in May.
Delhi University recently has started to explore its options with the possibility of ‘online examinations’ being conducted as an alternative. The evaluation of the feasibility of conducting online examinations has been tasked to the Delhi University Computer Center (DUCC). Senior Official, DUCC, in conditions of anonymity, stated the following to IANS, “We have received the instructions from top brass in administration and have started to explore options on this. We are seeing if we need to bring up a smartphone application for it or the website can work”. The DUCC is the ‘Central IT institution for the University of Delhi’ and provides technical support for the University and all its Colleges.
It was earlier rumoured that the University was considering scrapping the examinations for first and second-year students, however, the Dean of the Delhi University Examination Center, Dr Vinay Gupta rubbished these claims telling The Quint, “These are mere rumours, University has never even given a thought to this thing”. Further speaking about the possibility of online examinations, Dr Gupta said, “We see online examinations as the only way to conduct examinations, especially in times when students should not leave their houses”. The final decision, however, will only come after the committees that have been formed by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) present their final recommendations, as confirmed by Dr Gupta.
An anonymous Senior Official, UGC, also said stated, “Online examinations in the University look like a remote possibility, because we do not have a mechanism of conducting exams through an online mode. Also, there are many students who are in rural areas, or areas that do not have proper access to facilities. How will they be able to write exams?”.
The Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA) also expressed its concerns through a statement that read, “Online education model cannot be a substitute to regular classroom teaching. It does not work in a country where internet connectivity and smartphones are limited to a class of students only”.
The suggestion has supposedly also been met with resistance from the Deans of Several University Departments as it is being termed as “practically impossible” and “not feasible”.
Feature Image Credit: Saubhagya Saxena for DU Beat
Tashi Dorjay Sherpa
