As the number of coronavirus cases increase and plans to extend the lockdown are on, college students are getting more anxious about their final year exams. The exams were postponed due to the national lockdown. The union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has sought to provide clarification regarding the exams.
Interacting online with 45,000 colleges across India, he said final exams will definitely happen and details will be shared soon. The UGC had already suggested holding exams in July but the union HRD minister is doubtful about the Covid-19 pandemic situation improving by July and new modes and dates of exams will have to be worked out. The minister said first-year students can be promoted on the basis of their internal assessment if exams cannot be conducted in July.
The Delhi University had suggested an ‘online open-book exam’ but it received flak from the teachers and students community. The DU Teachers’ Association (DUTA) had written to the vice-chancellor of Delhi University stating that the open book exams will only lead to more anxiety among students as they are used to taking different kinds of exams. The president of the association had written: “Springing this ugly surprise on them in such uncertain and anxiety ridden times is a move that will increase the anxiety for large sections of students, especially since the normal teaching-learning process has been disrupted due to the pandemic.”