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After English Honours, B.Com Honours Undergoes Result Woes

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Students pursuing B.Com (Honours) express their grievances as the results of the first-semester examinations leave students dissatisfied.

On 12th May 2020, results of the first-semester B.Com (Hons.) were declared. However, there were surfacing concerns regarding discrepancies in the same. Students have put forth the issue of disproportionate results i.e. the marks obtained in practicals and internal assignments not corresponding to the results of the odd semester examinations.

“I believe that my classmates have been marked incorrectly. For someone who scores eleven out of twenty-five in internals, getting a score of nine or ten in the core paper seems to be uncanny,” says a first-year student who responded on the condition of anonymity. The Varsity’s faulty evaluation has repeatedly been a cause of concern to students with respect to their results.

“Our seniors were not surprised when we told them about the discrepancies, this shows how deep-rooted and normalised this problem is,” says a student pursuing B.Com (Hons.) who wished to remain anonymous.

“The results have mostly been fine. Other than a few minor discrepancies in some subjects, the only major cause of concern has been the Microeconomics GE (Generic Elective) paper. Some students feel that the marking has been outrightly random. Students with perfect scores in internals and a well-written test have been marked far below their expectations,” says a first-year student pursuing B.Com. (Hons.)  from Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC).

Moreover, the issue of revaluation also stands as an inconvenience amidst the contemporary COVID-19 pandemic. With shops closed, attaining photostats becomes a tedious task. Along with the technical constraints, the revaluation and rechecking procedures emerge as faulty systems as students often claim that the Varsity gathers revenue from its own faults.

The recurring glitches in the results along with the University’s proposal of conducting online examinations have been a worrying matter to the students of Delhi University.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Priyanshi Banerjee
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DU Circulates Guidelines For Online Open Book Examination; Students Object

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A series of guidelines for setting question papers were circulated by Delhi University (DU). The Varsity actively considers conducting Open Book Examinations for final year students.

In a letter dated 13th May 2020, Professor Vinay Gupta, Dean of Examination addressed to all the Head of Department (HODs) of Delhi University and laid out certain guidelines to be adopted for setting question papers for the proposed exams. With the introduction of Open Book Examination, students can refer to books, notes and other study materials to answer the questions. This comes after suggestions to conduct online take-home exams for final year undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in the School of Open Learning (SOL), Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB), and regular classes.

Students are expected to appear in these exams from their homes. Question papers of respective courses would be downloaded from a common portal, which would be attempted on plain paper. The answer sheets would then have to be uploaded on the portal within three hours from the start of the exam.

The letter was widely circulated amongst teachers and students. Following guidelines have been assigned for setting up the question paper.

  • Since it would be an Open-Book examination, the questions need to be framed in a manner which would test the understanding and analytical skills of the students and there should be NO/minimum scope for verbatim copying from books and study material.
  • The duration of the examination would be for two hours. One hour additional would be given for downloading the Question Paper, scanning the answer sheets, and uploading the answer sheet.
  • For ease of evaluation, it is requested that the question papers should have 6 questions out of which 4 are to be attempted by the students in 02 hours. All questions should have equal marks. There should NOT be parts to any question. Maximum marks would be 75 (100 for SOL/NCWEB papers).
  • The three sets of question papers for each course of both UG and PG programs related to each department would be set and subsequently moderated.
  • Moderated question papers to be uploaded on to the Examination portal, the login credentials of which would be shared shortly with the HODs.
  • Exams would also be conducted for 1st / 2nd year / 2nd Sem /4th Sem simultaneously for repeaters who are in 3rd year / final year.
  • All the question papers may be uploaded/sent at the earliest but not later than 3rd June 2020.

The decision to conduct Open-Book online exams, however, has been widely criticized by students and teachers across the country. Academics for Action and Development (AAD) demanded that this letter must be withdrawn immediately. “The pedagogy of DU and it’s Examination system is neither structured nor cultivated for open book examinations and to be taken at one’s home. We have three fourth of students coming from SC, ST, OBC, EWS, PWD and remote areas like north-east and Jammu & Kashmir, who are on the receiving end in the digital divide. Apart from the availability of network and having 4G mobile problems, the biggest challenge is to frame those questions which will test understanding and answer will be out of books and notes. The students are not trained or taught for these types of questions,” Press Secretary, AAD, said in an official statement.

It added, “Moreover, framing three sets of questions out of books and notes, without parts and for equal marks is not possible for all courses. In many science papers, there are derivations, numerical of chemical equations where finding questions from books and notes will be extremely difficult.”

Students’ Collectives and Unions from across colleges have joined hands against the conduction of online examinations. A common forward circulating amongst college groups said, “The Twitter trend is against the attempt of the administration to conduct exams through online mode. It will create a divide among students as many of us have issues with proper internet connectivity, reading material, laptop, atmosphere of study etc.”

Through a series of tweets on Twitter with the hashtags #DUAgainstOnlineExams and #EducationWithoutExclusion, students are demanding the university to step back from adopting such exclusionary methods.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Aishwaryaa Kunwar
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Global Prospects of Crimes During Lockdown

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COVID-19 and lockdowns are not only having a toll on our daily lives but are also causing a noticeable shift in the type of criminal activities.

With people locked amidst the walls of their homes, there is a significant change in the techniques and statistics of crimes globally. There has been a roughly 20% drop in the crime rates, however, this comes along with signs of an increase in domestic violence and cyber frauds. For a crime to take place the contact of the criminal with its potential target is imperative, since lockdown has changed our movement activities, there is a similarly dramatic change in the distribution of criminal activities.

The shortage in the supply of face masks and medical equipment has made them the new targets for theft. There have been examples where thieves have been found stealing Oxygen canister from hospitals, raids on food banks, scams, and counterfeit goods relating to coronavirus have been observed. Staying indoors will also cause an increase in child abuse. As per the statistics of 2016, 40% of the child assault and abuse took place at homes by mothers and fathers. Now, the open of liquor shops and stores in Delhi has a probability of worsening the situation, for both children as well as women.

The pandemic has resulted in diverting the entire attention of the policymakers and police towards finding its cure. This has provided the criminal group to enhance their scope in illegal markets dealing in drugs and trafficking. Certain reports are even suggestive of the expenditure by the criminal markets on this disruption. A plane was sighted landing at Osvaldo Vieira Airport on 18th March – after the airports have been shut for preventing the spread of pandemic – it raised strong suspicions that the closure was being used as a guide to land planes carrying cocaine.

With the increase in the demand for medical supplies, the sale of counterfeit medical supplies has surged from the very start of the outbreak, as has been suggested by the smuggling and theft of medical supplies. Authorities in Iran, Ukraine, and Azerbaijan have intercepted attempts to smuggle essential stocks of medical face masks and hand sanitizer. In Italy, police have seized counterfeit masks in several regions. Adverts for masks have emerged on dark-web forums, while hundreds of sites on the open web market discounted masks that may not be legitimate, or even exist.

With no permission to go out, people have been spending most of their time online this has lead to a promotion of illicit business, especially those which are cyber oriented. A number of cyber phishing scams have already emerged, where trustworthy sources, such as the World Health Organisation have been hacked to gather information or spread malware content. INTERPOL has issued a warning against frauds whereby people are tricked into buying non-existent medical supplies, making payments intended for medical care into accounts controlled by criminals. It is estimated that millions of dollars have already been lost by the victims of such scams.

With a greater amount of free time and lockdown the online porn industry will undergo advancement. Pornhub has already made its premium version free, while this site is legal, the increased demand will provoke the criminal groups to trick and exploit sex workers, drug users, and other vulnerable people. The FBI has issued a warning that children who home-school, play games online, and use social media during school closures may be targeted by sexual predators, as they spend extended time online. Other online scams targeting the economic vulnerabilities of people such as lotteries and fraudulent investment schemes are also coming into play.

Indoor criminal activities have got a significant increase during the lockdown. In India, the National Commission for Women had received a total of 587 complaints from 23rd March to 16th April, out of which 239 are of domestic violence. According to data shared by the NCW, 123 cases of domestic violence were received between February 27 and March 22. In the last 25 days, the commission received 239 more such complaints. This locking of the abuser and victim in the same home has resulted in a steep rise in Domestic violence cases in India. The UN chief António Guttered called for measures to address the “horrifying global surge in domestic violence.” In one of his tweets he mentioned, “peace is not just the absence of war. Many women under lockdown for #COVID19 face violence where they should be safest: in their own homes.”

Research conducted by WHO reveals disturbing details regarding the physical, sexual, reproductive, and mental violence phased by women, during these times. women who experience physical or sexual abuse are twice as likely to have an abortion, and that experience nearly doubles their possibility of falling into depression or facing other mental health-related issues. In some regions, they are 1.5 times more likely to acquire HIV, and evidence exists that sexually assaulted women are 2.3 times more likely to have alcohol disorders. 87,000 women were intentionally killed in 2017, and more than half were killed by intimate partners or family members.

UNFPA has responded by working with trustworthy organizations and religious leaders to raise awareness of the heightened risks of gender-based violence during the pandemic. “We need to ensure that measures are in place to prevent, protect and mitigate the consequences of all forms of violence, stigma, and discrimination, especially those against women and girls during quarantine and self-isolation processes and procedures,” said Visare Mujko-Nimani, UNFPA’s head of office in Kosovo, as per the UN news.

Feature Image Credits: Europol

Kriti Gupta 

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DU College Charges Students for Hostels

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Read on to find out the plights of students from a student of Delhi University (DU). This piece gives an insight into how different colleges withing our University are dealing with the pandemic. 

In these intense or rather stressful times of COVID-19 when the students are sceptical about their college and future and the college should take some actions to calm the students down. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College (DDUC) of Delhi University is paying no heed to any of these issues and moreover still using their tactful ways to bother and impose irrelevant obligations on them.

The hostel administration of Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College is forcing the students to pay their quarter fees while no one is residing in the hostel. In these stressful times of lockdown when no one is allowed to go out and the financial conditions are not in good shape, the administration is forcing the residents to pay the quarter fee. The fee for the facilities (water and electricity) no one is consuming.

Moreover, the administration has denied answering any queries of the students or parents regarding this matter saying “no clarification would be issued in this matter. It is a compulsory fee and needs to be paid”. If not paid there is an imposition of INR 50 per day as a penalty. And this amount would not be refunded to the students. The very fact that this all is happening even after the orders of the government for asking for any further fee is saddening. This just another way of extracting money for these capitalist institutions. This sense of torture from the hostel authorities is now affecting us personally, with following a different set of rules for girls and boys’ hostels for handling situations.

This is just not it; the students of this college are suffering from the start of this academic session and this is just a chain of events that has led us to this point. The residents of the hostel have been facing such problems from the start of this academic session. After not having had got any answer from the authorities the residents resorted to the action of putting up a strike for the basic needs against the administration. But this was dismissed by the principal by the threat of suspension.

The union council elections were also suspended by the administration which is the basic entity for getting our voice to the ears of the authorities. The cancelling of union defeats the purpose of decent and our say of asking any questions. There is no transparency in any sort of matter.

All these add up to a totalitarian rule of the principal and other authorities which is suppressing the students and hostel residents, leading to no other option left to get our voice reached to the people. These links are for the support of the prior strike held against the authorities.

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Privacy in the Times of Aarogya Setu

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To curb the spread of the Coronavirus, Governments all over the world have resorted to actions that have potentially infringed upon the rights of individuals. In India, Aarogya Setu has sparked a debate on privacy.

“Big Brother is Watching You” just got a whole lot really, according to some privacy experts, when the Government of India rolled out ‘Aarogya Setu’, an application that aims to inform the people of their risk of contracting the Coronavirus and educate them on the best practices and medical advisories pertaining to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

However, the app has not exactly gone down well with certain people who argue that the system by which the app uses contact tracing and shares details with the government essentially makes it a ‘surveillance system’. Congress politician Rahul Gandhi too tweeted in this regard, and his theory was ‘proved’ by French ethical hacker, Elliot Anderson. Through this article, I am going to analyse whether or not these claims hold weight, and whether the application is truly worth it.

The first concern would be that downloading the app gives the Indian Government access to your location and personal data at all times. However, that is untrue. Firstly, the application replaces all your data with a Device Identification Number on sign-up, and this DiD becomes the basis of all future interactions. It is this DiD that is used to interact with other phones when they come in range with each other and calculate your health risk and communicate it to the server. It is only when the risk of infection to a person is too high that the personal information is reconciled with the DiD to alert the individual.

The Privacy Policy for the application, along with its Data Access protocol, explicitly states the purposes for which the data can be used and limits the possibility for misuse. One major concern remains in the fact that the data is shared not only with the Health Ministry but with any related ministry at the central or state level that is involved in addressing the pandemic, but a case could be made against the same looking at the various actors involved in the COVID response. Another concern comes from the fact that DiDs that do not change can lead to privacy issues, but the Government is currently addressing this by creating a dynamic ID that generates multiple times and offers more security.

Hacker Elliott Anderson tweeted about certain ‘risks’ which included data of the users being at risk and local files being accessed. However, various people proficient with coding have come out to deny these claims, arguing that Elliott ran basic scripts to access the data stored on his own device and portrayed it as a security issue when it isn’t. Adding to it, the creators of the app themselves chose to engage with the hacker and clarified their response to his claims. It has been by and large proved that these claims held no weight at all and should be disregarded. An important point to be noted is that this is the same person who claimed that he hacked TRAI Chairman RS Sharma’s information based on his Aadhar Number. However, it was later found that the information he ‘hacked’ was available in the public domain already and could be easily found through search engines. As Michael Scott would say “Fool me once, strike one. But fool me twice, strike three.”

More importantly, the rules and privacy policy clearly specify the duration for which the data can be stored. The application deletes all personal data 30 days from collection, and the servers purge the information after 45-60 days, depending on whether or not a particular person tested positive for the virus. This contact and location data can in any case not be retained beyond 180 days and the demographic data is deleted within six months, provided the pandemic does not extend beyond that period. Thus, the possibility of the government retaining or sharing this data for other purposes does not exist.

Contact Tracing is a difficult, labour intensive process and often leaves out people in the way it’s been conventionally done. For example, a person goes to the market to buy vegetables and meets someone they do not know who later turns out to be positive for the virus. At that point in time, it becomes almost impossible for health officials to trace who was at xyz vegetable vendor at 11:00 hours on a day. This is where the app steps in, even if the person doesn’t know the person who contracted the virus, they will be notified of the risk and be asked to take steps accordingly, thus making the contact-tracing process not only less difficult but also more comprehensive.

A case is made that apps like these cannot be put to use by people who don’t have smartphones. It’s important to note that the app isn’t a replacement for contact tracing, it is an assistance mechanism. A lack of accessibility by the entire population cannot count as an argument for the ones who can access it to not be asked to install it and use it. Even if one person can self-isolate and reduce the spread of the virus due to the app, it means tens or hundreds of others who they would have come in contact with are saved. Every single life saved is a major victory for the application. In fact, until now, the app has been used to notify 1.4 lakh people of potential exposure to the virus and asked them to take necessary precautions. Even if one percent of those, i.e., 1400 people test positive for the virus later but had taken precautions to contain its spread thanks to the notifications issued, it’s a win not only for the app but for the country.

It is a moral obligation of every citizen to try and ensure that we try and reduce the spread of the virus as much as possible and take whatever steps necessary. Aarogya Setu, with its benefits, is a huge step, and all of us who can download it should make sure that we do.

Of course, the government needs to do better in two regards. Firstly, the government must implement Aarogya Setu only through law. If an action threatens to hinder a fundamental right (such as the Right to Privacy here), it needs to be implemented through legislation that limits potential government misuse. While in the status quo, it is understandable why the app is being pushed so strongly, there are better ways to do it, especially in the absence of a Data Protection law in the country.

Secondly, app security is a major issue. Thus, the app should be made open source so that developers can check it for bugs and potential security issues, and thus make it safer and easier to use for everyone.

The Aarogya Setu app is not perfect, but there can be no denying that it can be of huge help in the fight against COVID-19. The government has actually taken measures to ensure that user privacy is respected to the extent possible, which is a welcome change from its actions from the past. Given how crucial it is, it is imperative that we download the application as a measure to not only safeguard our own health but that of others around us too.

Featured Image Credit: Flipboard

Khush Vardhan Dembla

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Seeking Spirituality in Solace: Ramazan in a Lockdown

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Locked inside homes and distanced from the community, is quarantined Ramazan a chance to redeem your spirituality in solace?

The well lit streets at dawn anchoring massive food stalls with variant foods and condiments, the flashing bazar with jittering crowd trying to get the best for their own, the hosting of lavish iftar parties and community collection among other traditions, experienced during the most sacred month in the Islamic calendar, has all come to a halt! The mention of these outwardly expressive traditions is deliberately aimed, since we often lose to oblivion of the spiritual and introspective aspect to these material and capitalist needs during Ramazan. Not that celebration is a crime and missing those old days is sinful, but in times as dreadful as such, it wouldn’t hurt to minimise the celebratory side and be more introspective if one has the privilege of living in a house which allows to afford space and solace to retrospect.

Ramazan asks of you to do social distancing with evils of jealousy, lies, deceit, and to have a sense of control over your  instinctive desires. This lockdown shall be used to shield ourselves from the hypocrisy of duniyadari and use the time and distance to introspect the evils which lie within.


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Ramadan. Day 2

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From sunrise to sunset fasting (roza) without food and water, if you still don’t feel for the empty stomachs of those who fast perennially, and not out of choice, but circumstances, then you have learned nothing from this month. It’s still easier to crib and complain from the insides of your house when others who are subject to your living room discussions die outside. Zakat or charity is one of the five pillars of Islam and now more than ever humanity is calling for it. My mother always said, “Khuda (God) looks for your neeyat (intentions).” A lot of people are reaching out to help, one such is renowned journalist and author of Gujrat Files, Rana Ayyub.


What is also quite visible is a patriarchal approach where a determinant of the end of the world is indicated when mosques are not holding collective prayers for men. Like it’s beneath their dignity to offer prayer from inside which the women have been doing majorly since ages. Khuda isn’t confined to mosques. Offer your prayers from home which itself is a privilege to have. We now live in times where basics such as food, shelter, and education is even a privilege and it’s highly insensitive to hold your manner of praying or living superior to another.

Ignorance is abundant, maybe more than the spread of virus, use this month to live upto to what it truly stands for. This Ramazan use social distancing from this ignorance instead, understand your entitlement, and reach out to those in need!

Click HERE to donate to a fundraiser organised by Karwan e Mohabbat.

Image Credits: The Economist via Hannah Barcyzk

Umaima Khanam

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Decoding Lockdown 3.0: Woes and Charms

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The second extension of lockdown shattered our post quarantine plans, yet one more time. With the exhaustion of the ‘to watch’ movies list and the increasing anxiety day-by-day this third phase, which is about to end soon,  seemed more tedious and tough for us.

The continuous everyday cycle of attempting and failing to sleep and wake up early, has made most of us to give up. The unsatisfactory results of almost every social media and blog suggested way to be productive, has left us heartbroken. With loads of demotivation and sacks of laziness one seeks solace only by residing in the world of either memories or post quarantine plannings. Apart from affecting ones mental health this third phase is also targeting the economical vulnerabilities of the people to a greater extent, as compared to the previous two lockdowns.

With business and industries shut for almost one and a half month people are slowly and gradually getting short of their savings. The daily wage labourers are the worst hit, as they are struggling even for basic needs like food, shelter and clothing. The government too is facing a shortage of funds and revenue, owing to which it recently passed an order allowing the opening of liquor shops and stores. This decision however failed in acquiring positive support from the people. There were several metres of lines in which people stood closely to buy drinks and booze. The entire ideas and norms which the Prime Minister promoted in the former two lockdowns were erased by this decision.

“Ostracisation, lack of hospital care, loss of wages, homelessness, hunger etc. This extreme lockdown seems to be a case of the privileged transferring their epidemic risk to the under-privileged”, said Praveen Chakravarty, political economist and head of the Data and Technology cell of the Congress party, in an interview to The Hindu. The little kids of four to six years of age are locked in their homes. In an age where they should be involved in outdoor activities they are left with no other alternative except of sticking their eyes to the screens of their parent’s mobile phones. This lock down promoted phone addiction is having devastating results on the growth and development of kids. This second extension has contributed only in furthering this phone dependency.

Increasing irritability, hypertension and obesity are some of the commonly observed outcomes of the developing technology geekiness in children. With the patience reaching at brim it is becoming more and more difficult to distance one selves from friends, family or even work (the realization which struck during this quarantine). Owing to the life of hustle and bustle many people during the initial two phases took it positively, considering it as a necessary break, or an opportunity to spend me time but, in this third one even that group is facing a hard time. The initial methods of survival which included Ludo, Tambola and bingos is now appearing to be monotonous.

This is a greater trouble agreed, but is somewhere contributing in the saving of lives, which is the greatest existent asset. Acknowledging both the vices and virtues of the approach is imperative, but at the same time one should not let that hinder in abiding by the passed rules and regulations. With all the uncertainties the entire country is facing a hard time, during which keeping ourselves strong and supporting not only our families but fellow humans is extremely important. If you are bored with one activity shift to other, there are a plethora of things for you to try your hands on. So, stay calm and remind yourself of what Martin Luther says, “we must accept finite disappointment but never lose infinite hope.”

Feature Image Credits: Swarajya

Kriti  Gupta

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Exam Season

DU Mulls Over ‘Open Book’ Semester Examination

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As the Delhi University mulls over the best method to conduct semester examinations, we are seeing new suggestions every day. The latest one being Open Text Book Assessment or OTBA.

According to The New Indian Express, the Delhi University is considering conducting an ‘open book’ examination for the final semester. These recommendations were made by the working group committee for examinations following a meeting on 8th May.

The examinations have been a talking point for students, particularly third year students, as well as teachers. Preceding this several other suggestions have also popped up be it online examinations, delaying of the examinations, use of internal examination to cancelling of the semester exams altogether.

This model of tests just like the previous ones had been exposed to criticisms and counter criticisms. “It is not a very good idea, Open book exams are meant not only to test the conceptual understanding of the students but also their ability to apply these concepts in real life situations. They are best suited in disciplines that require testing based on direct reference to written materials. Students are evaluated on the basis of understanding rather than memorisation,” said Pankaj Garg, mathematics professor and INTEC convener.

According to the teachers, neither students nor teachers are trained for such exams. “Clause 3 of UGC guidelines clearly says the university can conduct semester exams as per ordinances, rules and regulations. There is no provision of open book online exams in the ordinances. The Academic Council (AC) meeting should be held to discuss and take decisions on the UGC guidelines,” said Ratnesh Rajan Saxena, an AC member.

Previously the proposal of conducting online examinations had met with heavy criticism. Many students as well as teachers argued that neither students, to a great extent, nor the university has any infrastructure to conduct an online examination of over one lakh students.

Abhinandan Kaul, a student of St. Stephen’s College, says, “The idea of open book tests is good one since it would imply evaluating students on their understanding and analytical skills rather than their memorisation abilities. However, it isn’t an idea that can possibly be implemented in context of our university. Since neither our teachers nor have we been trained for such examinations. Further there are other major obstacles too like the lack of internet facilities or books with students.”

The university has to come up with a concrete plan instead of an array of infeasible suggestions as soon as possible. As because of these examinations future careers of many students are at stake.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Aniket Singh Chauhan

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DU Releases Notification Regarding Revaluation After B.A English (Hons) Result

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With various faults and inconsistencies in the marking of B.A. (Hons) English papers, University of Delhi (DU) releases a notification regarding the revaluation after students identify  certain flaws in the result.

The release of the B.A (Hons) English result came as a shock to many students due to the severe inconsistencies in the result of students from all the semesters. The inconsistencies have come in the form of a severe dip in the Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) of many students. A vast majority of students have revealed that they have gotten 1.5 or 2 Grade Points less then what they get. The suspicion lies on the administration for conducting a hasty evaluation process.

With the outcry rising, DU released a statement saying that those who could not apply for revaluation because of the closure of the University due to the pandemic can submit it now. The University has given time till 26 May 2020. Students have been asked to print revaluation forms fill it and email it. They have also been asked to scan and email their revaluation forms, admit cards, copy of marksheet, and a copy of the fee receipt. While this seems like a good way for English Honours and other students to get their results rectified, there are certain privileges and apathy shown by the Administration in this move.

A Press Release by All India Students Association (AISA) expressing solidarity with the students of B.A (Hons) English points out that the method is inaccessible to a lot of students. It says that “ the admin expects all students to have access to internet, printers,scanners and all their documents (Admit Cards, IDs, etc), completely ignoring the health crisis, lockdown, and financial positions of a vast number of students in DU.” It also points out that the last day gives the student a short time to apply, and the fee of Rs.1000 makes it impossible for a lot of students in their current financial condition due to the lockdown to apply. The statement ends with pointing out how mass failures are the burden of the University not the students and for the conduct of free revaluation for all students.

AISA eng hon statement

Damni Kain, a student activist and a student in DU points out several other negative impacts of the results and the revaluation process suggested. She says “ As a student, I find this very disappointing to see how our hardwork of an entire year is mocked by absolute negligence at the hand of the administration. The effect won’t be limited to just an year’s result but the result of our graduation in totality. Further, those aspiring for Masters in Delhi University through marks-based system have almost lost an opportunity. With no fault of ours, we’re made to face the worst amidst a terrible pandemic. To this, the several restrictions and rules placed on re-evaluation makes it impossible for us to go for it. This is an anti-student move which needs to be condemned and taken back if we wish to maintain the ethos of a university system.”

 

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Prabhanu Kumar Das

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DUTA Writes to CM Regarding Inadequacy of Grants

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Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) wrote to Delhi’s Chief Minister regarding the inadequacy of grants sanctioned to 12 of DU’s colleges that are 100% funded by the Delhi Government.

On 9th May 2020, DUTA wrote to Delhi’s Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal regarding the inadequacy grants provided to twelve of the university’s colleges that are completely dependent on the Delhi Government for funds.

The 3rd/final instalment of Grant-in-Aid during the financial year 2019-2020 was sanctioned on 25.3.2020 and more recently, on 7.5.2020, 1st instalment of Grant-in-aid on monthly basis (Salary purpose only) was sanctioned.

As a result of the Government’s tardiness, the colleges’ funds were delayed for several months and staffers had to remain without their salaries. Further, the sanctioned grants- when sanctioned- are inadequate and not enough to cover salaries even up to April.

DUTA complained that the grants sanctioned on 23rd March 2020  were barely enough to cover salaries of January and February, resulting which, many of these colleges have been unable to pay their employees.

Along with not being able to pay the salaries of staffers after April, these under-funded colleges have not been able to make payments towards reimbursements and arrears that are due to their staffers, and are also unable to pay for electricity bills, property tax and general maintenance.

Along with the letter, DUTA presented a summary of the feedback that they have received from Staff Associations of under-funded colleges and the mentioned deficit is in regards to the funds required to cover staffer salaries alone. The feedback provided is as follows:

1.Acharya Narendra Dev College: Deficit of 6.15 cr

2. Aditi Maha Vidyalaya: Deficit of 3.85 cr

3. Bhagini Nivedita College: Deficit of 0.18 cr

4. Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences : Information not available

5. Dr B. R. Ambedkar College: Deficit of 2.48 cr

6. Deen Dayal Upadhyay College: Deficit of 3.63 cr

7. IGIPE&SS: Deficit of 0.2 cr

8. Keshav Mahavidyalaya: Deficit of 1.9 cr

9. Maharshi Valmiki College of Education: Information not available

10. Maharaja Agrasen College: Deficit of 2.61 cr

11. Saheed Rajguru College of Applied Sciences for women : Deficit of 2.41 cr

12. Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies : Salaries up to April have been covered

Further, the Sanction Order of 7.5.2020  states that, “As per observations of Finance Department request for release of GIA of next installment may be submitted after formation of Governing Body in all Government Colleges in 2020-21.”

DUTA has expressed disappointment in the sanction, claiming that issue of grants- especially the issue of salaries- cannot be linked to the formation of Governing bodies as the teaching and non-teaching staff and no role in their formation. They also mentioned that the non-payment of salaries is a violation of basic human rights, especially for non-teaching staff working on contracts, and ad-hoc and guest teachers who are more vulnerable.

“We find it extremely unfortunate that there has been no focus on the growth of these institutions. The 12 colleges are in dire need of the additional funds necessary for development of infrastructure development for smooth academic and administrative functioning.

The colleges still await release of funds for additional posts for teaching and non-teaching staff in view of the extension of reservation to EWSs and consequent increase in intake of students. Moreover, some of the new courses that were started after obtaining the necessary approvals are being starved of funds required for appointing teachers to run these courses.

The delay in doing so, despite repeated reminders, has undermine the teaching learning process and affect the quality of education imparted in these institutions. We write to seek your intervention for an urgent release of adequate grants to cover all pending dues including salaries, reimbursements and arrears due to employees on account of the 7th Pay Revision and for adequate infrastructure development and maintenance and for the EWS expansion. We seek an appointment to discuss these issues with you,” Rajib Ray, DUTA’s president, mentioned in the addressed letter.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Shreya Juyal

[email protected]

 

 

 

 

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