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DU Forms ‘Working Group’ to Oversee Course of Action for Examination Conduction

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With the extended classes coming to an end soon and doubts over what next with respect to academics, DU has formed a 15-member working group to “oversee all examination related matters.”

In a notification posted on the official website, dated 6thMay, DU has constituted a ‘working group’ to inspect and give suggestions on examination related matters. The working group has been put together to study the various examination related affairs, review the preparedness for conducting this session’s examinations and then take the appropriate measures.

The 15-member body is headed by Professor Vinay Gupta, Dean (Examinations), who is presiding over the committee as the Chairman, and comprises of members from different colleges and departments of DU. The notification also stated that “the working group may co-opt any expert, if required, with the prior approval of the competent authority.”

Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey, the Officer on Special Duty, School of Open Learning (SOL) and also a member of the committee, told Career 360,“There are chances of having both online and offline examination, but that would be too early to say anything as we are yet to have any meeting.”

He denied the question of the University not conducting the examination and stated that examinations will be held as per the schedule announced by the University Grants Commission (UGC).

He also said that any decision will be taken keeping the interests of students in mind. Although, concerns over conducting examination through online mode have been raised many times in the past few months, Dr. Pandey’s statement clearly indicates that the committee is considering all its options before coming to a conclusion. Today itself, the Working group posted an invitation for comments/suggestions from stakeholders on examinations. They have been asked to send them to the following email ID of the Working Group- [email protected].

However, questions have been raised on the committee’s composition. As reported by The Hindu, University executive council members, Rajesh Jha and JL Gupta, censured the committee, calling it “arbitrary and undemocratic”; and in a letter to the Vice Chancellor, they raised their concerns over the formation of the committee and inclusion of certain “nominated members” and some other aspects.

In parallel, Delhi University Teachers Association (DUTA), also wrote to the Vice Chancellor about the absence of the statutory bodies of the University –the Executive and Academic Council, from the Working Group. They also expanded their argument to highlight the inclusion of elected representatives of teachers in the committee and the students’ as well as DUTA’s opposition to the online mode of examinations.

It’s been more than 10 days since University Grants Commission (UGC) released the guidelines on Examinations and Academic Calendar for Universities. With various universities such as Mumbai University releasing their academic plans, DU students and teachers are eagerly waiting for the University’s course of action. The Working Group might speed things up and some official statement or notification can be expected in the coming days.

Feature Image Credits:DU Beat

Ipshika Ghosh

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Coronavirus

UGC Recommends Revised Academic Calendar

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Keeping in mind the present Coronavirus situation, the University Grants Commission has issued suggestions with respect to the functioning of universities post lockdown.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesdayreleased a fresh set of guidelines on how universities and colleges should function after the lockdown ends. The guidelines suggested a special emphasis on ensuring learning while ensuring social distancing. It was suggested that colleges open from August for enrolled students and for the new batch, admissions begin in August and classes by September.

The universities shall follow a six day week once they resume operations, as per the recommendations of the UGC panel. For laboratory or practical experiments, students will be allowed to work through virtual laboratories.

Here are some other suggestions by the UGC:

— The universities and colleges have been advised to hold their final year or terminal semester examination from 1st July to 15th July. They can declare their results at the end of the month.

— For first and second-year students, the varsity can conduct exams from July 16-30 and announce results by 14th August, if possible. If not, the students will be graded based on the internal assessments of the past two semesters.

— Universities have also been asked to use innovative modes of examinations and assessments. The duration of exams will be reduced from three hours to two hours. This might be a one-time move.

— The universities have been asked to develop virtual classroom and video conferencing facility and all teaching staff to be trained with the use of technology. Further, all the content of universities will be uploaded in digital form on its official website to be accessed anytime, as per the guidelines of the UGC panel.

— Faculty would be thoroughly trained in information communication technology (ICT) skills as well as online teaching tools. Teachers will be asked to publish 25 per cent of the syllabus through online teaching and the rest through face to face traditional classrooms.

— Every university will establish a COVID-19 cell for handling student grievances related to exams and academic activities during the coronavirus pandemic. The UGC has also announced to establish a helpline for monitoring student grievances in this regard. Among other immediate measures, attendance will be granted to all students for this period.

— The UGC also suggested universities to devise a proforma to record the travel/ stay history of the staff and students for the period when they were away from the university due to lockdown.

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat Archives 

Khush Vardhan Dembla

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Uncategorized

Second-Year Students of SSCBS Win Big At Global Case Competition at Harvard

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In a monumental win for India and Delhi University (DU), students of Shaheed Sukhdev Colllege of Business Studies (SSCBS) were declared winners at the Global Case Competition, Harvard University 2020.

Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies (SSCBS) brought laurels to Delhi University (DU) as well as the nation. In the first-ever win for India of this kind, SSCBS bagged the first position representing India at the Global Case Competition at Harvard University (GCCH) 2020. Competing with over 140 teams from universities such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, John Hopkins University, HEC Paris and London Business School. 

Prize money of 10,000 USD was awarded to the winning team. Mr Olivier Levyne, Managing Director, CACIB announced the glorious win to the team comprising of 2nd-year students from  SSCBS- Sparsh Sehgal, Ojas Jhamb, Kunal Vats, Raghav Nath and Aanand Negi. They were mentored under the able guidance of the faculty members Mr Neeraj Sehrawat and Mr Amit Kumar.

Image Credits: Press Release, SSCBS
Image Credits: Press Release, SSCBS

Kunal Vats spoke to DU Beat, “I hope this win sets a precedent of Indian teams winning big at the global stage and inspires many business students to work towards their dreams,” The team members expressed their delight too, “It has been a dream come true for us! Winning it has been surreal. Competing against and beating the top universities from around the world will always have a special place in our lives. We’re happy that our hard work and quality of work was rewarded. This edition was online as compared to the other rounds held at Harvard, and we were able to adapt to the new format effectively. We’re really glad that this competition happened despite the ongoing pandemic!” 

Congratulating the winners, Dr Poonam Verma, Principal, SSCBS says, “It was a great opportunity for our students to learn and interact with other international students. I am glad that our students are achieving international laurels and bringing positive news especially during such times,”

The GCCH is organized by the IFSA Network and Harvard GSAS Business Club. One of the most prestigious case competitions, it attracts the brightest economists, business-minds and finance-enthusiasts from around the world. With a mere three weeks in hand, students compete on a finance case involving strategic management, eventually, culminating at Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Due to the pandemic, the event was organised through an online mode. School of Business and Economics, Brazil and John Hopkins University were declared the first and second runner-up, respectively. 

Feature Image Credits: Official Website, SSCBS

Anandi Sen

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DUB News

Delhi HC Responds to Release 5th Semester Results

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The Delhi High Court has finally sought the response of Delhi university, on a student’s plea to seek results of her Economics fifth semester results.

A final year student of Economics hons., Daulat Ram College, Delhi University was accused of cheating in one of her examinations, by carrying some notes in her pouch. The student claimed of appearing in all the examinations and in the ‘International Trade’ exam, held on 3rd December 2019, she got late due to traffic and mistakenly carried some notes in her pouch. She says of informing the invigilator when she realised, and was ready to surrender them, despite which she wasn’t allowed to continue with her exam. Till the time a fresh answer sheet arrived the time for the examination got over.

A show cause notice was issued to her, on 12th March and her entire examinations were cancelled. Agitated by this she filed a petition in court, seeking assessment and result of all the four examinations she appeared for. The student further claimed of making representations to the university but receiving no response in return. She said of getting no hearing before cancelation of her exams, the results of other students of the same course has already been declared. As per the invigilator’s allegation, the girl was indulged in cheating and hence was rightfully debarred.

The university council submitted of the woman not filing any reply to the show cause notice, or seeking a personal hearing. It further said of being under lockdown, hence needing more time for records retrieval, to file before the court. The court considering the woman to be a meritorious student, and admitting of her not receiving any hearing with respect to the show cause notice, declared to consider her request of revealing the results of her other three papers, in the next hearing on 11th May.

“Accordingly, at this stage, the respondent (DU) is permitted to file a counter affidavit along with the relevant documents within a period of two weeks. On the next date, the University of Delhi shall also place in a sealed cover before this court the result of the other three examinations where the petitioner (student) had appeared in her fifth semester,” said justice Pratibha M Singh.

Feature Image Credits: Jagran Josh

Kriti Gupta

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Admissions 2020

Govt. Proposes Delayed Start to New Academic Session

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A seven-member committee set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC) has deliberated that the new academic session is to experience a two-month delay, with a beginning in September instead of July, 2020.

As per the report submitted by the UGC committee on Friday, 24th April 2020, the Covid-19 lockdown has officially caused the academic session of 2020-21 to stand delayed, as reported by a government committee. This government committee has also recommended that the beginning of the session be postponed to September, instead of mid-July, as is traditionally.

This decision was taken by a seven member committee set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC), curated you deliberate on the examination and academic related issues that have arisen due to the world’s current situation. The panel was headed by Haryana Central University’s vice-chancellor R C Kuhad. Additionally, A C Pandey, director of Inter-University Accelerator Centre; Aditya Shastri, vice-chancellor of Banasthali Vidyapeeth; and Raj Kumar, head of Panjab University, are among its other members.

As the pandemic hit the globe and the Covid-19 lockdown was instated throughout the country, universities and colleges have been under lockdown since 16th March 2020. This was done in lieu of the order given by the Union government, announcing a countrywide lockdown in order to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus disease.

The UGC committee has also proposed the re-scheduling of the universities’ end of the semester examinations. The examinations, which were to be held in May, have been proposed to be rescheduled for July. The UGC is set to frame the guidelines regarding examinations based on the report submitted by the committee. A source, under the condition of anonymity, told the Indian Express that, “The guidelines will not be binding on higher education institutions, but they will lay down the outer time limit by which the government expects them to start their new academic year.”

The decision to hold examinations, however, has been widely criticised by students and teachers across the country. Delhi University Teacher’s Association (DUTA) has urged the faculty to reject their varsity’s attempts to gather information for aiding the examination process, insisting that scheduling exams by taking only online classes into consideration, is discrimination against students with lesser means and lack of the availability of resources.

“The online classes aren’t enough. There’s either problems with connectivity, or a lack of extra reading material. You definitely can’t hope that online lectures would be able to suffice for class lectures. Many of us didn’t even take all of our textbooks back home because the Holi break was so short, and the lockdown news came with no warning. Plus, a lot of students don’t have a peaceful environment to attend these lectures either. I think it’s insensitive of DU to even consider examinations unless they plan to somehow compensate for the classes that we haven’t gotten to attend,” Pragya, a 2nd Year student from IPCW, told DU Beat.

As of now, all colleges and other educational institutions remain at an indefinite hiatus.

Featured Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

Shreya Juyal

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News

DUTA Suggests Series of Measures to be Undertaken Amidst Covid-19 Lockdown

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Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) in recent administrative feedback has released a series of suggestive measures for the Delhi University (DU) administration to consider while tackling the academic hurdles brought on by the global pandemic.

On 14th April 2020, DUTA released an administrative feedback to DU regarding the handling of the global pandemic situation of COVID-19. In the released statement, DUTA points out the faults in the university’s semester and examination schedule, pointing out how neither was well-equipped to handle a crisis as such, leading to a collapse in the teaching semester. “The pandemic has also exposed the failure of the semester system with its tight teaching-learning and examination schedule to be able to weather any crisis such as the present.”

DUTA pointed out the problems with the online classes and e-resources provided by the university and how lacking the method is and definitely not at a capacity to replace or make up for in-class lectures any time soon. Given our student demography, it is important to recognize that a large section of students come from outside Delhi and that an equally significant number comes from underprivileged backgrounds, and the environment at their homes is unlikely to be conducive for learning. The University and colleges have so far not been able to collect data on how many students have accessibility to the e-resources and lectures shared by teachers. Given the diverse population of students to whom the University of Delhi caters to and the student strength, the means and modes of assessment and examination adopted in the context of the lockdown should ensure that the solutions offered do not further marginalize the already marginalized sections of students or create a situation where large sections of students lose out due to the circumstances they face,” the feedback statement read. They also pointed out the fact that most students who had gone back home during the mid-semester break (which had included Holi) had not carried their textbooks and reading materials with them.

DUTA, therefore, concluded that online examinations for the university would not be viable options, owing to the lack of resources and inaccessibility to many students of the university.

DUTA has offered the following suggestions to the administration:

  • Examinations to be held only after teaching days lost during quarantine period are recovered, with priority being given to final year students. DUTA suggested readjusting the holidays for summer accordingly.
  • Final year students should be provided with provisional certificates with details of their SGPA and CGPA.
  • If opened in a phased manner, colleges should give priority to final year students with exams being held 15 days after re-opening.
  • Schedule of the new academic year be adjusted according to the course requirements of current batches.
  • Considering shifting the examinations of UG level courses to an annual mode, in order to properly equip the administration for a similar crisis in the future.
  • Universities should hold meetings of all statutory bodies in order to prepare for dealing with the situation. Students should be kept informed of all measures being taken, even if they’re temporary.

“In the case of the University of Delhi, which caters to lakhs of students, we firmly believe that attempts must be made to ensure that (i) students enrolled in regular programmes be taught and evaluated as per the laid down framework (ii) essential classroom teaching to SOL and NCWEB be completed as per the requirements and commitment of these programmes and (iii) conduct of online centralized examinations be ruled out completely as the University neither has the infrastructure nor the capability of providing/ensuring level playing field in terms of accessibility and ease to the diverse student population it caters to,” the feedback read.

Feature Image Credits: Niharika Dabral for DU Beat

Shreya Juyal

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Campus Central

UGC Likely to Extend Deadline for Research

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With libraries and educational institutions shutting down across the country due to Covid-19, the University Grants Commission (UGC) is expected to extend the submission deadlines for research work by six months.

Keeping in mind the problems faced by research scholars in undertaking research work in the ongoing pandemic and lockdowns, former Executive Council members of University of Delhi (DU) have appealed to the UGC to postpone the research submission date by at least six months. “In the current extraordinary situation of crisis, it is not possible to carry out research work since consultation of an expert is required and library resources are essential as all references/books are not available as e-resources”, they added.

Most of the research scholars were expected to submit their thesis in a stipulated time as set up by the Ordinance of the University and was due in March-April. However in the second week of March during the semester break, the university was declared closed till 31st March followed by a complete lockdown in the country.

The Federation of Central Universities’ Teachers’ Association (FEDCUTA) in a letter to the UGC Chairman, D P Singh wrote, “Many PhD and MPhil research scholars have been enabled to conduct research in this period. Absence of laboratory and library facilities except for select few e-resources have left scholars largely resourceless. They have not been able to do any field work too.” They also pointed out that the pandemic has affected the mind frame of the research scholars and disrupted the pace of their work.

“We request you to take cognizance of the difficult circumstances and issue instructions to universities to give an extension of six months to all scholars across the country who were due to submit their thesis/dissertations or hold their pre-submission seminars,” they added.

With multiple requests being made for the extension, the UGC Chairman stated that a seven-member committee had been formed to discuss changes in the academic calendar due to the lockdown and that the next session would be started right after it is lifted. He asserted on avoiding any delays thereafter in the examinations as well.

Taking into account the uncertainty in the current situation, UGC is likely to extend the research deadlines and an official announcement is expected to be made soon.

Feature Image Credits: Zee News
Feature Image Caption: DU appeals to UGC for extending the deadline for submitting research by 6 months.

Aishwaryaa Kunwar

[email protected]

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News

DUTA Writes To DU VC Regarding Delay in Salaries

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Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA)  wrote to Professor Yogesh Tyagi, Vice Chancellor (VC), Delhi University (DU) regarding the delay in the payment of salaries to teachers working on ad hoc/guest basis.

On 6th April 2020, DUTA wrote to Professor Yogesh Tyagi, VC, DU regarding the delay in the payment of salaries to the teachers of the university who are working on ad hoc/guest basis. Though DUTA thanked the administration for the steps that the university has taken to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the series of notifications for the payment of salaries to employees – teaching and non-teaching and staff under CAS / SAP / DSA Scheme, honorarium to guest faculty and fellowships to project staff, researchers and fellows, they drew attention to the delay in the payment of salaries of ad hoc and guest teachers. The delay of payment of salaries has remained to be a pressing issue plaguing the university’s temporary teaching staff and especially in the ongoing pandemic, it is turning fatal for money and gravely jeopardising their financial situation. According to sources, the departments had sent approvals regarding the extension of the term of ad hoc teachers and the appointment of guest lectures, but due to delay in these approvals, the temporary faculty is now facing a denial of financial security.

“It seems that Departments are still awaiting necessary approvals from the University,” DUTA wrote, as revealed by a released press statement. “It had been brought to our notice that ad-hoc teachers have either been paid salaries till 29 February or till 20 March 2020. Departments had sent recommendations for the extension of the term of these teachers and are still awaiting approvals. As far as guest teachers are concerned, approvals to their appointments are yet to be received by Departments even though these teachers have been teaching since the beginning of the semester. Heads of Departments are hesitant to fill the required information in the form sent out in the absence of these approvals. Please note that this delay in completing required formalities have denied financial security to these teachers. Salaries and honorarium are often delayed for months together but a delay in the current situation is causing much hardship to teachers.”

Before the shut down of the university, the organisation had called for an indefinite strike of DU teachers to protest against the lack of job security for ad hocs and guest lecturers who were denied job security.

Rajesh Jha, EC Member, said, “There is no nationale to withhold their salary, when they have been working hard for our university despite their uncertain situation. They are still attending the students. Even the central and state governments have come out with the policy of no salary cut during the period of lockdown. The university and college administration must release their salaries immediately.”

Vice Chancellor Professor Yogesh Tyagi is yet to comment on the released statement by DUTA.

Feature Image Credits: Official DU Website

Shreya Juyal

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DUB News

DU SOL Postpones Annual Examinations for B.com and B.A Courses

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Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (DU SOL) has postponed the annual mode examinations for the students of B.Com and B.A. (Prog) courses due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.

An official notice on the DU SOL website, uploaded on 25th March declares a postpone in the annual examinations of B.Com and B.A.(Prog) courses. As per the previous date sheet the examinations for B.Com and B.A (Prog) courses, were respectively scheduled from 4th and 5th April which now stands withdrawn till any further notice. The students are advised to regularly check the official website for the upload of the revised date sheet.

The official notice on the website reads, “In accordance with the office order No. F.No. Estab.II(i)/330/COVID-19/M/2020 dated 19th March, 2020, the examination of B .Com. (Annual Mode) scheduled to be held from 4th April, 2020 and B.A. (Prog.) (Annual Mode) scheduled to be held from 5th April, 2020 stands withdrawn. The date-sheet for both the above examination will be notified later. All concerned are requested to please stay connected through website for latest updates.”

Riyansh Gupta, a first-year student of B.Com (Prog) course, “We already have to cope with the first and second semester simultaneously and further delays are just increasing the burden. But, in this current situation delay was obvious and much needed so we can’t do anything except for just waiting for the situation to get better.”

He further informed of DU SOL of not being very responsible for passing important information. He said, “One other thing is that DU SOL does not know how to communicate with its students, every time anything happens, DU SOL is the last to respond plus the official site is also not that good.”

Feature Image credits : DU Beat Archives

Kriti  Gupta

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DUB News

DU Pledges Its Staffers’ One-Day Salary Towards Coronavirus Relief Fund

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The University of Delhi (DU) has pledged its staffers’ one day salary to the PM relief fund in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.  

The University of Delhi (DU) has decided to pledge its staffers’ one-day worth salary to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) that has been set up in the wake of the Coronavirus spread, in an attempt to fight to the pandemic.

The Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF) in India is a public raised fund that does not get any budgetary compensation from the government. It was set up to provide relief and support for people in cases of natural and man-made disasters.

The PMNRF along with Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM-Cares)- set up specifically during the ongoing coronavirus spread- are the two citizen-funded initiatives that have been providing relief to the economically weaker sections during the pandemic. On Monday, 30th April 2020, the University released a statement where this donation was proposed.

Along with this initiative, the University has apparently formed a task force in an attempt to take stock of the ongoing crisis that has arisen due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. This task force would be coming up with recommendations regarding academic and administrative responsibilities of the university in these trying times. The University has also stated that excessive amounts of financial resources are going to be needed by the centre to deal with the upcoming circumstances and provide relief to help its more vulnerable citizens in this crisis.

“The University has proposed to contribute one day’s salary of teaching and non-teaching staff to the Prime Minister’s National Relief Fund (PMNRF),” it said in a statement. The statement also revealed that a mobile application is currently in development so that employees who wish to contribute more to the PMNRF to help the situation can do so.

In the aforementioned context, the statement further read that the university is also making use of the two recently integrated apps- Google Classes and Google Hangouts- which can be used by the faculty and students to continue with the academic schedule online.

The University has also stated that it has made arrangements to provide all basic amenities to students staying in hostels, and that the mess facility is operational in all of the hostels maintained by the University. Four medical centres- The World University Services (WUS) Health Centre at North Campus, The WUS Health Centre at South Campus, East Delhi (Dr BR Ambedkar College) and West Delhi (Shivaji College)- have also been made available that have medical professionals, paramedics and ambulance around the clock.

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

 Shreya Juyal

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