MU pupils urge overseas varsities to ease their admission deadlines

Students applying for postgrad courses anxious due to delayed exams back home

Following University of Mumbai's decision to postpone its exams, students have appealed to all higher education universities in India and abroad to relax deadlines and extend admission deadlines. Students claim that their careers should not be jeopardised and they should not waste an academic year due to the global crisis that the pandemic has caused.

If exams are postponed then results are bound to get delayed and hence admissions to higher education programmes should be pushed further too, urged Sanjana Mathur, a final year student of Bachelor of

Management Studies (BMS) course. Mathur said, "Our final semester exams which were supposed to begin in March have been postponed after April 14, 2020. Hence, we should be given more time to apply for master's programme as the whole academic cycle is delayed."

Academic year in universities abroad generally begins in September and application for student visa, fees and admission procedures are completed from June to August. Fernando Pais, a final year student of social work said, "I want to study my Masters from Europe. But for that I will need my results by June. Since our exams will only begin in April we need more time. Overseas universities should be more considerate so that we do not waste an entire academic year."

The overseas varsities should relax deadlines, extend fee payment dates, provide conditional admission and help students in the visa process, claim Mustan Marzi, a teacher of MU.

Marzi said, "Universities and colleges abroad should understand the situation in different countries and allow more time to students. There is a total lockdown in many countries. Also, not all countries are equipped to conduct classes online so all processes are at a standstill. MU doesn't have the bandwidth to conduct exams and courses online."

Over seven lakh students currently are at their homes and are waiting to appear for their Undergraduate (UG) and Postgraduate (PG) exams under MU.

Sharad Male, an engineering student said, "Nobody has any idea when we can appear for our exams. I had planned my higher education but now, all of us have to just sit and wait."