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While Delhi University’s online examination form portal crashes, students express uncertainty about appearing for end semester examinations if conducted online. 

On 20th of April 2020, Delhi University (DU) released a student portal to fill online examinations form. The portal appeared to be quite stressful for students as they battled with heavy traffic, constant crashes and unstable internet connectivity. Students were left in a state of uncertainty, doubt and obscurity regarding the conduction of online examinations for concluding 2019-20 Even Semester.

As the portal surrounds itself with internet issues, students question whether the online examinations can be successfully carried out in a social diversity like that of Delhi University. Paridhi Puri a student of Jesus and Mary College (JMC), spoke to DU Beat regarding her inaccessibility in operating the portal. “When the portal launched the day before yesterday, it immediately crashed. Even in Delhi, there are internet issues now due to exceeding the stipulated bandwidth. For about 30 minutes, I struggled to open a single link, which is highly irresponsible. The University infrastructure is not equipped to entertain an online form, how can they successfully conduct an online examination for 3 hours that too for so many subjects? It just shows how ill-equipped DU is.”

Another student from JMC who belongs to Kashmir, also shared, “If there are online exams, it will be very difficult for the students who are in Kashmir right because there is only 2G internet speed here. Sometimes we are able to attend all the classes and the connection is good but sometimes even in downloading a single page it takes a lot of time and effort. It is unpredictable . Even today during the Commerce exam there was a lot of problem, the connection was not proper and was getting disconnected again and again. And if in case the exams take place online and something like this happens it will be very very unfair for all the students who are in Kashmir right now. Normally even with 4G connection any error an occur , so obviously with only 2G internet connection the chances become double !”

However, Vinay Gupta, Dean of Examination Branch refutes such claims. He spoke with The New Indian Express, and said, “The university has not taken a decision yet to conduct online examinations. A student portal has been launched so that students can fill their examination forms. This online platform has been created due to the lockdown. Also, on the first day, due to heavy traffic, the website has been slow; it will function better in a day or two.”

As semester exams in Calcutta University prepare to be clubbed, DU too, hinted towards an online examination. Several students raised concerns about DU’s indifference towards the students’ social background. Vinitha Singh, a student from a village near Pali, Rajasthan, stays in a low network area. “We cannot even speak over the phone, very rarely we get reception and internet on the top floor. I am unable to attend online lectures, I doubt I’d be able to appear for online exams. I just hope they cancel.” 

Students pursuing commerce raise concern over online calculations while students from theoretical background question the typing speed required for a three-hour examination. Pankaj Kumar Garg, Mathematics professor, Convenor, INTEC and former member of the Academic Council, expresses his disapproval of the online examinations proposal. Speaking to The New Indian Express, “Given the various types of courses offered by the university, applying the same model for assessment is unjustified… Good typing speed is required for theoretical papers. By adopting this method, the university is creating an unequal playing field in which students from disadvantaged backgrounds wouldn’t be treated fairly,”

As several people leave their books back in Delhi, international students meet with other unavoidable circumstances. Nouresha, a student of Kamala Nehru College and a native of Mauritius feels paranoid about the future, “I came to my friend’s place in Haryana during the mid-semester break and got stuck here because of the lockdown. There’s barely internet connection here for me to talk to my parents back home. And maybe at the beginning of May, my country is going to airlift all the Mauritian students in India. And once back home, we’ll be in quarantine for I don’t know how many days.”

Kashmiri students remain in the dark regarding online examinations. Students with bare minimum internet connectivity, People with Disabilities (PwD) and a whole lot of students from disadvantaged backgrounds may be left out in case the University conducts examinations online. 

Feature Image Credits: Delhi University Website

Anandi Sen

[email protected] 

Today’s tech-savvy world has allowed everything to go digital –right from food to sports to music and even the radio. It is only fitting that we find an alternative to the newspaper our father enjoys every morning with his cup of tea. We present to you a list of digital news apps for the courageous and honourable folks who admit they don’t read the average newspaper afterall!

Inshorts: We’ve all heard of this very popular news app that delivers news in short (quite literally). With crisp and accurate data accompanied by pointers explaining certain terms (yes, they do love us students), this funky app in signature red is a must read.

 

Google News: Yes and they publish news too (remember that old Tata Steel ad-after a wide range of activities, it read “we make steel too”). Let’s face it, nothing Google does is ever average and this is no exception. With a personalized newsfeed covering all possible areas of your interest, this app is perfect for those sloppy Joes.

 

Way2News : This app provides an exceptional reader experience , allowing you to skip the fluff and access the data. Let’s not forget, it operates in 9 Indian languages and has the most adorable monkey as its mascot. Yes, this is definitely worth your phone space.

We sincerely hope that all those who garner secret hatred for that badly formatted, black and white, advertisement ruled TOI will find solace in this article!

Featured image credits: inshorts

Anahita Sahu

[email protected]

The University of Delhi, as scheduled, began accepting online applications for admissions to undergraduate courses on Thursday, 28th May. The admissions portal can be accessed here: http://ug.du.ac.in/2015/index.php/site/login. A step-by-step textual guide is also available on the admissions portal under the tab “Steps to Apply”.

Online admissions will continue till 15th June. Aspirants also have the option to apply offline beginning 5th June at the University-designated centres.

While filling the online form, the following few guidelines should be kept in mind to ease your process of application:

1. The website has a reputation for being slow in the initial days of applications. If you are facing similar issues, the way out is giving it time and checking the website from time to time for improvement.

2. An aspirant is only allowed to fill one form, i.e. either online or offline. Thus, it is imperative that you fill out your application with extreme care.

3. Changes to your application are possible only before payment of registration fee is made. After payment, you will not be able to modify your application.

4. Upon entering the Board roll number, your subjects and their respective marks are filled by the system itself under normal circumstances.

5. Subject codes assigned by DU are as follows:

Subject codes
Source: www.du.ac.in

DU’s Info Centre
Ph: 155215, E-mail ID: [email protected]

Featured graphic designed by Naman Sehgal for DU Beat

Ishaan Gambhir
[email protected]

In a bid to cut down the time involved in issuing admit cards, Delhi University has decided to allow individual colleges to generate them directly. Through this, they seek to replace the long and often arduous process of issuing admit cards manually though the university.

To bring about this reform, a committee of several colleges has been formed. It includes members of Hindu college, BR Ambedkar College, ARSD and IP College, among others. Through this new system, colleges will have to create a database of their students, along with details from the time of admission till the time of the exams. This information will then be uploaded to the websites of the respective colleges. Thus, the admit cards will be generated from the college’s data base.

As of now, the practice of filling the admission form and the examination form has been in operation. However, this system considered flawed, as the forms contain similar information, except for some added information in the examination form, made the process repetitive. With the introduction of the new system, unnecessary paperwork is being targeted and should ideally be beneficial. Moreover, with the colleges being given the authority to issue admit cards, the long wait for the university to issue them will also be eliminated.

Said Radhika Wadhwa, second year student of Venky, “It will of course make our task easier as we won’t have to submit the same information over and over again and we’ll hopefully then be getting the admit cards earlier than before, because it’s difficult to collect them just a day or two before the exams.”

This new system will be in effect from the coming semester exams, which start in the month of November this year and colleges have already been issued a directive for the same.

Image Credits: Additi Seth