Complaints, glitches mark Day 1 of Delhi University’s open-book exam No scribes: Visually impaired students unable to take test
nNEWDELHI: Day 1 of the first online open-book examinations (OBE) held by Delhi University for its final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students on Monday was marked by glitches that ranged from downloading question papers to submitting answer sheet.
The online exams, being held as a one-time measure in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, will continue till August 31 for around 240,000 students of the university– including those enrolled in non-collegiate courses of School of Open Learning (SOL) and Noncollegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB).
Social media platforms such as Twitter and Whatsapp were flooded with complaints of glitches, including alleged cases where students received question papers four hours before the stipulated time and confusion over the number of questions to be attempted.
“Our Technical Writing paper was supposed to start at 3.30 pm but we got it at 11 am. Not knowing what to do and with no help from the grievance cell, we started writing our papers. At 3 pm, we received another question paper,” said Deewansh Khatri, a final-year BA programme student. “We had to discard what we wrote earlier and begin afresh. There were also conflicting instructions in the general guidelines and the question paper on how many questions we had to attempt.”
For Avijit Singh, a PG student of History, the problem was entirely the opposite. “We received the question papers an hour late on our email accounts and could not finish on time. Some couldn’t submit their papers on time. A friend who received the question paper first shared on our class Whatsapp group but we could not be sure it was our paper. There was so much anxiety.”
Poor internet connectivity in several parts of the country did little to help DU students – many of whom had gone back home due to Covid-19. Abhay Krishna, an undergraduate student of Physics, who is in flood-hit Kerala, said, “Data connection here is very poor. I struggled to upload my answer sheets using my phone on the website and ultimately had to take a friend’s help using Wifi. To be sure, I emailed my answers to the university.”
Maria, a final-year Chemistry student from Jammu and Kashmir, said she faced more hassles than her peers in other states. “Students with 4G connection could not upload their answers on time. It can be well imagined what we might have gone through having a 2G internet connection,” the student said. She said Covid-19 concerns prevented her from going to Common Service Centres in the region.
Common Service Centres are facilities created under the ministry of electronics and information technology to access government services online. But due to lack of awareness, many students were not able to avail of the facilities on Monday.
Sanjeev Singh, head of DU’S Computer Centre, said, “Around 35,000 students appeared for their exams on Monday. It will be difficult to compile the actual data because students also submitted their answer scripts through e-mails. The grievance cell is active and we have been responding to students’ queries. As far as question papers are concerned, all papers are available on the website and students can go and download it session-wise.”
Professor KS Rao, deputy chairperson of the grievance redressal committee reconstituted by Delhi High Court, which is hearing a plea on the matter, said, “There is a set procedure for the exams. We are compiling the complaints we received and will submit them in court.”
Dean of Colleges Balaram Pani said, “We got positive feedback from students and other stakeholders that the exams were conducted in an excellent manner. Students who weren’t able to able to upload their answers resorted to alternative system to email their answers, which worked for them.”
nNEW DELHI: Many visually challenged students on Monday said they were unable to take the test on the first day of Delhi University’s (DU) online open-book exams (OBE) for final-year undergraduate and postgraduate students, due to unavailability of scribes and assistive devices.
The university had earlier said visually impaired students appearing in the exams could seek its help in getting scribes at the common service centres (CSCS) -- facilities created under the ministry of electronics and information technology -- or their campuses.
The university had asked colleges to provide support material to all visually challenged students.
There are around 400 visually challenged final-year students in undergraduate and postgraduate courses.
It was not yet known how many took the test as DU was still collecting data from colleges.
But many students alleged they were not provided scribes, assistive devices and relevant study material by their colleges. Roshan Kumar, 19, a final-year BA (prog) student at Ramjas College, was among those who could not take the exam on Monday.
“We cannot read printed books. We use two types of devices. One is a laptop or netbook with a screen reader software and another is DAISY (digital accessible information system) players. These players have recorded study material. We could not get anything since colleges are closed in view of the pandemic. It was impossible for me to prepare for exams without all this,” said Kumar, a first-generation learner from west Delhi’s Nawada.
Manoj Khanna, principal of Ramjas College, said all visually impaired students got audio study material. “We had informed students that they can visit the campus and avail of the facility of scribes. A visually challenged student will come this week to write his exam with the help of a scribe provided by the college,” he said.
Then there were students stuck in different parts of the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic, who could not get scribes. Deepak Gupta, 23, a visually impaired student studying MA in English, said he could not arrange for a scribe in his home town in Bihar.
“I could not appear in the exam on Monday. We do not have proper study material at home,” he said.
Bijayalaxmi Nanda, principal of Miranda House, said, “We have set up a support system at our college campus for students with disabilities. But it was not possible to provide scribes in different parts of the country amid the pandemic.”
Despite several attempts, DU dean of exam, Vinay Gupta, did not respond to calls and texts sent for a comment.
A member of the examination branch, who wished not to be named, said, “The online exam is optional and all students will get another chance to write.”
Senior advocate SK Rungta, who has filed a petition in the Delhi High Court on behalf of the National Federation of Blind (NFB), said, “The university and UGC should consider promoting of these students on the basis their internal exams. We will soon move Supreme Court, demanding the same.”