DU POSTPONES OBE BY 10 DAYS

NEW DELHI: The Delhi University on Saturday postponed the online open book exams for final year students by 10 days, citing the pandemic. The exams which were scheduled to take place on July 1 will now take place on July 10, according to the new notice by the DU administration.

“Examinations scheduled for all final semester /term / year and ex-students as per date sheet in OBE mode examinations as an alternative mode of examinations in view of COVID-19 pandemic adopted as one-time measure for academic session 2019-20 for all streams of UG and PG including SOL and NCWEB stands postponed for ten days in view of the prevailing situation of COVID-19 pandemic,” said the notice by University of Delhi.

Students and teachers, meanwhile, have been protesting against the open book examinations saying it would be unfair to many as students are not prepared and many others do not have access to technology or proper internet. "Postponing the examinations means nothing to us, we want OBE to be cancelled and till the time that doesn't happen, we are going to protest,” said Sumit Kataria, president of Students' Federation of India (SFI).

Meanwhile, the DU in its notice also said that the mock test and procedure for OBE will commence from July 4.

The university added that under the prevailing situation, all concerned stakeholders, especially students, may find it difficult to attend their scheduled activities of examinations. "We are really disturbed due to this decision. I am not prepared at all and this is mentally disturbing me. And I am sure majority students are feeling this way,” said a final year English honours student from the varsity.

The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) has also written to the University Grants Commission (UGC), requesting the termination of OBE for final year and semester students. "The decision of the University to conduct Open Book Examinations (OBE) in these adverse circumstances had increased the anxiety levels for students. The OBE has further added stress on students and their families to make special arrangements. With the exponential increase in COVID-19 cases across the country, many students are stranded, quarantined or are battling infections to self or family members," said the letter.

The UGC had earlier issued guidelines against conducting open book examinations, despite which the Delhi High Court had held that this was a unique method of keeping up with the education of college students in times of a pandemic. It had disposed of a petition by three DU students seeking the court's intervention in stopping OBES from being conducted.