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In recent years, concerns regarding the evaluation process and its transparency have become increasingly common among University of Delhi students and faculty members. An increasing number of instances of faulty results, in which students are marked zero or absent even though they appeared for the exam, leaves these students with little choice but to seek reevaluation and pay high fees. Students are adversely impacted by the late announcement of revaluation results and the lack of effective grievance redressal.

 University of Delhi, India’s one of the most premier public universities, attracts students from all backgrounds. With more than 90 colleges, 500+ programmes and almost 19 lakh students enrolled in different regular, open, certificate and diploma courses. With such strength, the process of evaluation and declaration of result is undoubtedly challenging. However, it is essential for universities to maintain a fair, unbiased and transparent assessment.

In recent years, there have been an increasing number of cases of errors in results in which students are graded zero or absent despite having taken the exam. Students who face such problems are typically advised to request for revaluation by paying a fee of 1000 rupees. However, there is no transparency in this process. Some of the key complaints of students include poor grievance redressal, late release of results, rejection of forms if any information is found to be wrong without notifying the applicant, and so on.

More than 100 pupils received a zero in English in 2012. A similar incident occurred in October of last year, when over 400 students from the faculty of law were marked zero or absent, provoking complaints from student groups. Many final-year UG students received zero or were marked absent in their OBE (Open Book Examination) results in 2020.

How can one get a zero in the open book format where we were allowed to use books? I have already taken admission in an MBA programme in a private institute in Pune and my family also took a bank loan of ₹16 lakh for my higher education. I have to submit my final-year mark sheets by November 10. They won’t allow me to join with this result. I applied for revaluation but I do not know how much time the university will take to declare the results. I am extremely anxious about my future”, says Yogendra Jaisawal, a student of Batch’20 from Rajdhani College in an interview in Hindustan Times

Not just regular students, but also SOL (School of Open Learning) students, experienced comparable challenges. Last September, Students from SOL’s B.Com and B.Com(Hons) programmes protested against faulty results.

They (DU) have made this mistake. They say that it could be anybody’s fault so we can go for re-evaluation after paying Rs 1,000. Where do we get Rs 1,000 from? In SOL, most students, including myself, come from humble backgrounds. We have already paid for our exams and books, though we haven’t received the latter yet”, Pushpendra, Delhi University in an interview on The Quint

 Students raised similar problems this year when the semester 4 and 6 results were released in July 2023. Many students from Zakir Hussain College received zeros in “Auditing and Corporate Governance” and “Fundamentals of Investment”. The pattern in these cases is that students with successive roll numbers received zero marks in the same papers.

In other papers, I received 7 GRPT. How can I get a 0? How could someone fail a theory paper unless they left it blank? This ruined my whole CGPA”, a student from Batch’23 of Zakir Hussain College. 

Students generally complain about the administration’s behaviour at the examination branch. Usually, students have to wait for extended periods of time since no one is seated at the window. Not only that, but students complained that they attempted to contact the examination branch through email or phone for an update on their revaluation, but no one responded to their emails or texts.

We asked the officers seated on the next window, 2-3 times. We informed him that we had been waiting for 25 minutes. He replied rudely, ‘Wait, there only’.”, a postgraduate student

The issue is not only the evaluation or the student being marked zero or absent and forced to pay 1000, but also the way the revaluation procedure works.

The revaluation guidelines read “If the award of the first revaluator is beyond ± 5% and up to ± 10%, the average of the marks of the original examiner and the first Revaluator will be taken.” Does this mean that incorrectly marked zeros will also be counted when computing my grades? If so, it is completely unjust. That was the fault of the university, not mine”, a student of Hansraj College. 

The release of revaluation results is a separate issue. In some cases, revaluation results of students get released after a year. Many students of Batch’24 who were graded faulty score of zero or absent say that they are ineligible to apply for placements in their colleges as a result of this error in their marksheet.

An RTI application revealed that between 2015-16 and 2017-2018, the University of Delhi earned more than 3 crore rupees in fees from students for rechecking, revaluation, or providing photocopies of their answer scripts.

According to the information provided by the university, it earned Rs 2,89,12,310 for revaluation alone between 2015-16 and 2017-18. During the same period, it earned Rs 23,29,500 for rechecking and Rs 6,49,500 for providing students copies of answer-scripts evaluated”, Reports The Indian Express

 Such mistakes and technical flaws are possible. However, the number of these cases has considerably grown in recent years. Such mistakes have an impact on a student’s career as well as their mental health. A transparent evaluation and revaluation procedure is of the utmost importance right now. To fix such errors, the institution should devise a quick and simple procedure. Not everyone can afford to spend such large sums only to correct faults created by the institution. As one of the largest and prominent central universities, DU should devise simple and effective solutions for resolving student issues.

Featured Image credits: exam.du.ac.in

Read Also: A Horror Tale of Major Human Error in DU Results

Dhruv Bhati

[email protected]

According to a report in the Times of India, Delhi Government has proposed to authorise college principals and university registrars to issue the training licenses, so that students above 18 years of age can obtain them from their colleges directly. An online eligibility test would be administered by the colleges, wherein the students would have to score 6 and above out of 10. The project is proposed to begin with the Polytechnic colleges which would be then followed by seven colleges of the University which are under the Delhi Government.

Students at large seem to be happy with the proposal. Deepangna Singhi, a student of Miranda House said, “The process to issue a license is somewhat daunting and it would be highly convenient if we get them through our colleges. The voter ID drive through colleges have turned out to be a success, so why not the license as well.” Another student, Vaibhav Gupta from Aryabhatta College says, “It’s a very good step as it will reduce the burden on the license issuing authority and make it easier for students as they will not have to red tape to get a license.”

However, teachers seem to be divided on this issue. While some teachers are supportive of the move others believe that educational institutes must not be burdened further. Dr Bijayalaxmi Nanda, a faculty member from Miranda House says, “I think university authorities are already burdened with work. The issuing of driving licenses should be through appropriate bodies which have been dealing with it.” She said that rather than adding the burden to academic bodies, the government should work to improve transparency and efficiency of the existing institutions.

 

A majority of the applications for a learner’s driving license constitutes of students. While the proposal in under review, how are colleges going to handle an additional task of dolling out licenses with the existing problems of non-availability of infrastructure and expertise is a major question.

Image Credits: itzeazy.in

 

Shireen Manocha

[email protected]

Now that the student union polls are over, the University administration has issued guidelines that grant more legitimacy to the posts that the newly elected student leaders have come to assume. The elected members of Student Unions from different colleges across the varsity will now be paid monthly salaries. The University administration has also fixed the minimum salary that each post-bearer will receive. Adhering to this amount or surpassing it depends upon the discretion of individual colleges.

According to university officials, this move has been undertaken after increasing complaints from student union members, about the magnitude of work and excessive burden that they have to bear. Mr. Aman Singh Grover, Secretary of the Student Unions Grievance Committee added, “We made this move consciously, so as to compensate for the class hours that the student leaders have to miss out on while performing their duties. Colleges that do not follow these guidelines will be penalised.”

Moreover, the University also mandates that various colleges have to allocate funds towards a stationery budget for the Student Union. This includes bearing the cost of all stationery material required by the Unions. Moreover, expenses such as phone bills, taxi fares, canteen bills, etc, incurred by the members while carrying out their duties, shall also be covered by this budget. The university has stated a minimum budget of Rs. 2500 to be allocated each month. However, this amount is to be raised during the fest season to Rs 5000.

Although it seems like a win-win prospect for the elected members, there is also a catch to this new guideline. If any complaints about the inefficacy of the student union are filed by the college students and deemed legitimate by the college authorities, they will have to pay a onetime fine of 5% to 40% of their salaries, depending upon the intensity of the complaint.

According to university officials, this move will act as an impetus for more students to volunteer in assuming leadership roles in their colleges. At the same time, it will also ensure that the elected leaders carry out their duties solemnly and do not flout their earlier promises.

However, colleges do not seem to be too pleased with this move. According to a disgruntled Principal whose name has been withheld in accordance to her request, “As of now, our college is running short of funds to even install water taps in some areas of the campus. If the University wants us to start handing out money to students for assuming roles that are essentially voluntary, they might as well allocate the funds themselves. This is a ludicrous proposal on their behalf.”

Now that both parties have spoken, what is your opinion?

Photo Courtesy: www.livemint.com

Swareena Gurung
[email protected]

22-06-2016 05.05.13                          

Infrastructure:

Situated at the north campus of the university, the college boasts of a 5 building structure with a world class sports stadium along with a lawn tennis and a basketball court. The college’s newly opened multi-storied air-conditioned library (also half of the college’s class rooms have air-conditioning system in place) has books on almost all the topics available to mankind. The topmost floor of the library is glass-walled and honestly speaking, looks like a squash court. [gallery size="medium" ids="43282,43280,43281,43279,43278,43277,43283,43284,43285"]

What to do in between classes:

  • As you head your way out from the library, you will see cafe coffee day’s ‘cafe day express’, welcoming you to try its hot coffee along with exotic vegetarian and non-vegetarian snacks.
  • If you prefer something more sub-continental, you can head straight using a narrow passage to the college’s canteen. There, you will find all the mouth watering foods from aloo-ki-tikki to North Indian Thaali. Though the odd thing about the canteen is that the bill you get features the name of Miranda House instead of the college’s own name. Too much affinity, I guess.
  • The college is almost perfectly located, with the Kamla Nagar market, the Guru Tegh Bahadur Nagar market and the Hudson lane at just a walking distance.
  • If you are visiting for the first time, it is recommended that you do visit the Tom Uncle’s Maggie point and the Wood Box cafe.
  • The college has its own Gurudwara in the premises for you to seek peace at.
[gallery size="medium" ids="43286,43288,43287"]

Delights to catch on:

If you really want to enjoy such an environment and are bored of your boring college routines, you should visit SGTB Khalsa College and especially its standout area, ‘jannat’. Jannat is located at the centre of the college and is a hub of almost all the activities that take place in the premises. From the art society displaying various art forms to the photography society featuring its best photo shoots, from the dramatics society’s street plays to the Music society’s foot-tapping performances, Jannat sees it all through the year. The name comes from the fact that the place is beautifully maintained and also has an exquisite lawn. [gallery size="medium" ids="43289,43292,43290,43293,43291,43347"]

Annual Fest, Lashkara:

So, once you are here at the North Campus, SGTB Khalsa is a college you must surely visit and since the fest season is near, you should also attend the college’s annual fest ‘Lashkara’ which features almost all the Punjabi celebrities from the music world. [gallery size="medium" ids="43348,43349,43351"] [gallery columns="2" size="medium" ids="43352,43350"]   Images by Gerush Bahal for DU Beat Brij Mohan Pahwa [email protected]]]>