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Foreign Ties: a Conversation with an Exchange Student in DU

By DU Beat March 16, 2023

Did you know that the University of Delhi offers a Student Exchange Program? DU Beat recently got in touch with Dominik, an exchange program student from Austria who’s currently enrolled in Hindu College, University of Delhi. Read on to find out all about this program from a candid conversation with Dominik and his journey so far.

Applying to Attend Delhi University

A history student from the University of Vienna, Dominik is currently enrolled in Hindu College as an exchange program student. Talking about his experiences while applying for the program, he says,

“It was a long process. It took me six months to get everything through. It could have taken even longer if I hadn’t begun on time.” – Dominik

The University of Delhi is in a partnership with the University of Vienna under which students and professors from the two universities are given the opportunity of an exchange program, post a rigorous selection process. In stark contrast with Delhi University’s generally ignorant and secretive nature surrounding the student exchange program, Dominik talks about his home university’s efforts in helping him contact a previously unresponsive DU.

“Getting in touch with the University was the hardest part. My home university professors would constantly email on behalf of me and helped me get in touch with Delhi University. This followed extensive research on available courses and colleges.” – Dominik

A mandatory prerequisite for the program is a language proficiency test. For Dominik, he was required to submit his English language proficiency test scores. The next crucial stage involves several rounds of interview sessions with professors and exchange program officers, who evaluate the student’s overall suitability for the program. The important documents which are essential to be kept handy are a motivation letter, CV, cover letter and academic transcripts.

“It’s so hard to get anything done, get a signature or a stamp. They send you back and ask you to come back later, and there’s no actual reason for it.” – Dominik

University Culture

The conversation further delved into life at university and the cultural aspects of it. Dominik shares,

“One thing that’s great about the university culture here is that you are really close to your professors. They know your name, they really help you out, you have their phone number. This is something which is unimaginable in Austria.” – Dominik

He further emphasised on the attendance system in Austrian universities, saying,

“One thing that’s really different in Austria is that we don’t have an attendance policy, you have a choice whether to attend classes, so there’s a lot of freedom and time to pursue other things that way.” – Dominik

Academic Contrasts

The selection of your course is a crucial step involved and conducting extensive background research before applying is a good idea. Dominik shares his personal experience of going through hundreds of answers posted on websites which eventually helped him make the choices. Availability of a certain course or paper also plays an important role, since unlike Austrian universities, Delhi University has a pre-structured curriculum. Discussing academics, Dominik adds,

“In Austria, you can choose amongst various different courses and you have the option to decide which course to study in which semester. In the framework of sixteen credits, you can build your own course so to say and try out what suits you best.” – Dominik

Speaking of his experience of studying history in Delhi University, he comments,

“You can learn about colonial history from the victim’s side, and not from the oppressor’s side. You can feel the emotions still attached to this history, so it’s really interesting to learn from this perspective, and break free from the Eurocentric point of view of history.” – Dominik

Words of Advice

“Don’t give up. It’s a long process but it’s so worth it. There’ll be bureaucratic hurdles; all this hard work and problems will be forgotten and you’ll only have nice memories then.” – Dominik

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Sigy Ghosh

DUB News

DU Students Storm Twitter, Express Dissent Over Online Exams

By DU Beat May 15, 2020

Delhi University proposes to conduct open book examinations online, a storm of dissent unleashes on Twitter. Students, activists, and organisations unite to trend #DUAgainstOnlineExams.

On 13th May, Wednesday, Professor Vinay Gupta, the Dean of Examinations, Delhi University (DU) released a proposal for conducting online examinations for final year students in the form of Open Book Examinations. The statement was made public the next day. This proposal explained the course of action to be undertaken involving printing and scanning of question papers and answer sheets, for which an extra hour would be provided to the students. However, this proposition is largely condemned by various student organisations for its “exclusive” nature.

Bodies like Students’ Federation of India (SFI), National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), and All India Students’ Association (AISA) among others have strongly condemned this move. They raised concerns on the lack of access to the internet for students from remote areas or general inability to use the same, unaffordability of smartphones or laptops were considered. Lack of study material and the implications of these on creating unfair disadvantages were also raised. These organisations suggest that this proposal for online examinations is, hence, highly discriminatory and fails to provide a fairground for evaluation.

All students, organizations, and allies were requested to join a call on Twitter to trend the hashtag #DUAgainstOnlineExams against the decision of the administration on 15th May, from 2 to 3 p.m. to highlight the issues of the students. Post 2 p.m., the aforementioned hashtag made it to the trending list on Twitter with several students and organisations speaking their minds and raising various concerns via tweets and memes.

NSUI strictly opposes the decision taken by University of Delhi to conduct the Online Examination because All students don’t have books & internet facilities. Therefore NSUI demands cancellation of Exams.#WaiveFeePromoteStudents #DUAgainstOnlineExams
https://t.co/kx9XBQUN4B https://t.co/CxCOjjWkOH

— NSUI (@nsui) May 15, 2020

Reject all forms of online evaluation! #DUAgainstOnlineExams pic.twitter.com/KABHOmU6tE — COLLECTIVE (@COLLECTIVEDelhi) May 15, 2020

Conducting online examination is not a solution. Most of the students don’t have basic resources for online exams like smartphones, laptops, and a good internet connection.
We demand to roll back the decision to execute online exam.#DUAgainstOnlineExams

— CYSS DELHI (@Cyss_AAP) May 15, 2020

Damni Kain, former Delhi University Student Union (DUSU) Presidential candidate and student activist posted a thread discussing the situation at large and voicing concerns of students. She addressed the unfair disadvantages of Kashmiri students in her tweet- “How will visually impaired students give online exams? What about students of Kashmir where internet connection is still at a 2G speed? Women students who are burdened with unequal domestic work, especially in the lockdown, are equally disadvantaged.”

THREAD : Why are students of Delhi University protesting today?

On 14th May, DU passed a circular which mentioned that the university is actively considering the option of online exams for final year students of graduation and post-graduation. 1/7#DUAgainstOnlineExams — Damni Kain (@DamniKain) May 15, 2020

In a statement released by the NSUI, the organisation requested the administration of the University to reconsider its decisions and come up with a more feasible alternative to tackle the situation at hand. It also suggested that in case online examinations are a must, the board should be lenient and test only the topics covered in class and not online.

The University recently released guidelines for open book examinations, details of which, can be found HERE.

Feature Image Credits: Niharika Dabral for DU Beat

Aditi Gutgutia
[email protected]

After English Honours, B.Com Honours Undergoes Result Woes

By DU Beat May 15, 2020

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
[email protected]

News

DU Circulates Guidelines For Online Open Book Examination; Students Object

By DU Beat May 15, 2020

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 1^st / 2^nd year / 2^nd Sem /4^th Sem simultaneously for repeaters who are in 3^rd year / final year.
All the question papers may be uploaded/sent at the earliest but not later than 3^rd 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
[email protected]

A Worrying Drop in Grades: English Honours Students Across DU Struggle

By DU Beat May 10, 2020

Students of English Honours report several inconsistencies in the recently announced odd – semester results. Administration and archaic evaluation process blamed.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, another complication has arisen in the lives of several Delhi University students. There has been a gross dip in the Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) of several students of BA (H) English. They suspect foul play on the part of the administration as well as a hasty evaluation process that has been tampered with.

DU Beat contacted various students of BA (H) English. Several students reported their grievances regarding discrepancies in the odd-semester university result. As per a final year student, students from various colleges observed a drop in their semester result this year. “The uncanny thing to be noticed is that it has happened in all the colleges around Delhi University. In my college, we have formed a group in which we are analysing if there are any common papers in which the result has dropped and till now, we do see a pattern. Secondly, we don’t know who checked our papers and how they were evaluated and how all of a sudden, the result came out. Some teachers have agreed that the marks dropping down for everyone means something is definitely fishy and as students, it’s our right to know about it. Given the situation, where we don’t know if we have our final exams and Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) saying they’ll be using 50% of last semester marks in the worst-case scenario, that’s why we are worried. For any final year student, this is a matter of serious concern because we don’t know what the academic future holds for us and we clearly don’t wish to give up on papers in which we put in so much hard work”, she explained.

A third-year literature student who reached out to DU Beat said that unfair marking has been done. Their teachers have informed them that this is due to the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) protests and non-availability of professors for evaluation. GPAs have been below average or above average this semester. The students who were supposed to get 7 or 7.5 got 6 or below in some colleges.

In conversation with DU Beat, Abha Dev Habib, treasurer of Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) said, “It’s extremely unfortunate students have to go through this. The objective of DUTA Strike was to create a dialogue about the mistreatment and injustices faced by the teachers and workers of the University. The administration treated the evaluation boycott callously, and these are the consequences of the same. Moreover, under the existing Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), if the evaluation of papers yields marks with a low mean, it’s the moderation of the results that need to be done judiciously. It’s clear that along with faults in evaluation, there have been fallacies in moderation as well.”

A professor from the Department of English told DU Beat, “Well, what has gone wrong is the University administration. It forced all associations of the university to take drastic and rather unwanted steps which ultimately resulted in the inordinate delay of the results. For example, owing to the corner into which the University administration forced its entire teaching community, the evaluation of the last semester’s scripts were put off track. That said, it will be rather difficult for me to say if all English Honours students, across the university, have suffered depreciation in their marks because I don’t have the requisite data in any official capacity. But, as I said, if anything has gone wrong, the blame lies with the way Delhi University treats its participants: students, the teaching faculty, and the non-teaching staff. If the students are suffering it is because of the callousness of the university.”

Jiniya Saha, a second-year student of English Honours at Gargi College has suffered grievously due to the mismanagement of the University results. She told DU Beat, “I didn’t get my result. The server is still showing “Sorry! No records found” in the DU Statement of Marks website. I have submitted my assignments and written all my exam papers properly. When I complained about the same, I was told to wait for an unprecedented period of time till the college re-opens. We all know that after half a month of result declaration the web-based transcript crashes and all students are thereby advised to take a print out as a hard copy.” It’s however clear, that she is not the only student who is in a tough spot due to tampering of the evaluation cycle.

Due to the pandemic and ongoing lockdown as well as shutdown of the university, students are urgently taking steps in their capacity by reaching out to teachers about the fallacies and tampering of results. A first-year student said, “I have a list of marks of my class and we think this may be a case of mass checking. We’ve forwarded the marks to our teacher. She will study them and let us know if that’s the case.” She also pondered upon submitting her answer sheets for revaluation but admitted that she was unaware about the procedure and whether it will be altered due to the pandemic or not. A WhatsApp group of aggrieved students from the university has been formed and more than 250 students have joined it till now. The group intends to release a petition on behalf of the student community soon.

While the students are disappointed and dejected at the way things have played out, they sincerely hope the administration will hear their grievances out and take timely and just action so that their plans for future endeavours are not hindered.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Paridhi Puri
[email protected]

DUB News

Staffer at SOL Tests Positive for Coronavirus

By DU Beat May 9, 2020

With coronavirus cases increasing daily in Delhi at an exponential rate, a staffer from the University of Delhi (DU)’s School of Open Learning (SOL) tests positive for the virus.

The novel coronavirus pandemic has been raging across India since March, 2020. With the country under an unprecedented lockdown and no end in the near sight coupled with the rise in cases, India currently has around 40,000 active cases with around 2000 people succumbing to the virus. With the virus still spreading after more than twomonths of lockdown in Delhi, one of the latest people to be infected with it is a staffer serving in Delhi University (DU).
The Staffer who works as an junior assistant-cum-typist in the School of Open Learning got tested positive for Corona Virus on 5 May 2020. It is suspected that he caught the disease after going to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for a routine check up, one of the hospitals where majority of the fatalities of the deadly coronavirus have been reported.

After developing mild breathing problems, an early indicator of the virus, the staffer got himself tested at a private facility. After finding himself to be positive for Coronavirus, he reported himself to the authorities and has been quarantined at the Narela Quarantine Centre.

The man who was staying with his aged parents at the staff quarters in Dhaka, Northwest Delhi before being moved to the quarantine centre. His wife and children were away and the university and local authorities have been informed, with the staff quarters at Dhaka about the necessary precautions and safety of the inhabitants, and an immediate sanitization of the area for the same.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Prabhanu Kumar Das

News

Students Can Now Access DU Library Resources Online

By DU Beat March 26, 2020

Several universities have shut down due to the COVID-19 outbreak in the country. Our very own Delhi University (DU) is one of them, has taken several measures to minimise the effect of this shutdown on the students.

As nearly all of Delhi University colleges have taken to online classes, the University has decided to grant the students access to its library resources from home. The students can use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection to access the data. This step was taken after the coronavirus pandemic spreads across our nation. Presently, the number of coronavirus cases have crossed 600. People all over the world have been requested to stay indoors and practise self-isolation to prevent the further spread of this virus.

To establish a VPN connection, students must know their DU Wi-Fi password and DU Wi-Fi username. However, non-members of DU Library will not be able to use the facility. In case of any problem related to the service, students can write an email to [email protected]. The University had earlier suspended classes till 31^st March and will now be shut till the 14^th April, owing to the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on this Tuesday.

Several colleges have started using online teaching apps like Moodle, Zoom, Google Meet, etc. to meet up the syllabus goals.

Many other institutions like IIT-Delhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU), Jamia Milia Islamia (JMI), etc. have also gone online. Although the effectiveness of these measures will come to light only in the coming weeks. Questions regarding class, access and privilege echo all around as offices, schools and colleges turn to online modes of continuing their work. While institutions are doing their best to provide this information on the internet, how many people will have the resources to avail these benefits?

Featured Image Credits: Aakarsh Gupta for DU Beat

Aniket Singh Chauhan

DU To Establish New Women’s College; Invites Name Suggestions

By DU Beat March 14, 2020

Delhi University (DU) is taking suggestions for the name of the new women’s college that will be established in Fatehpur Beri village on Gram Sabha land located in South West Delhi.

Delhi University’s upcoming women’s college will be established specially for women from rural areas belonging to the outskirts of Delhi and NCR. The college will be constructed in Fatehpur Beri village, and the Varsity has formulated a special committee to recommend suitable names for the newly proposed college.

The committee held a meeting on 11^thMarch, and the agenda for the same was to invite suggestions from the public for probable names for the proposed college. Delhi University issued a notice on its official website that mentions the details for soliciting name suggestions for the women’s college. Name recommendations may be shared with the committee via [email protected] within 15 days, that is, till March 26.

After a careful selection of the name for the upcoming college, the committee will further work towards devising a proper structure for the college, which includes the courses to be offered, teaching and non-teaching staff, admission procedures, and other spheres of information.

The 40 bigha land was recently allotted to the University by the Government of NCT, Delhi, for construction of the women’s college. This educational institution will essentially help women from the outskirts of Delhi.

With the recent declaration of COVID-19 as a pandemic, the Varsity has suspended classes, conferences, and other events till 31st March. It was notified on the official website of Delhi University that study material will be made available through its website. All internal assessments will be held after 31st March. These preventive measures were taken by the University to drastically reduce footfall on the campus to avoid any plausible conditions that may lead to the spread of the Coronavirus. However, the site is still available for sending name suggestions.

Feature image credits- DU Beat Archives

Suhani Malhotra

COVID-19 Pandemic: Delhi University Suspends Classes

By Shivani Dadhwal March 12, 2020

Delhi University released the official notification on suspension of classes and relevant events till 31st March, following Delhi Government’s notice on the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a press release dated 12th March, Delhi University notified the suspension of classes till 31st March, following the official announcement by Delhi State Government about the closing of schools, colleges and cinema halls to contain the spread of Coronavirus.

The teaching-learning process shall be continued in all Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs, with the study material being made available on a weekly basis on the website by the respective teachers of all Departments, Colleges and Centres. Teachers of the respective courses shall remain available as per the timetable through e-resources. The Internal Assessment / House Examination in all Undergraduate and Postgraduate programs stand postponed till 31st March. All functions; including seminars, conferences, symposia, workshops and group activities are cancelled. The aforementioned measures will be revisited after 31st March, keeping in mind the future environment.

An advisory for Universities and Colleges has been released by University Grants Commission (UGC) citing Coronavirus, with instructions for staff and students on how to avoid large gatherings on campus, and take necessary steps to disinfect the campus of possible infection.

Khush Vardhan Dembla, an outstation student from Hansraj College said, “I think it’s very important that classes are cancelled, we can’t afford to be lax in this regard at all. I just hope I manage to be productive during this time.”

Meanwhile, Delhi on Thursday recorded the sixth positive case in the national capital. The patient is the mother of a 46-year-old man, who tested positive for novel Coronavirus. The 69-year-old woman has also been detected with the virus, making her the sixth patient in the national capital, officials said on Thursday.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Paridhi Puri