DU MA English Students Say 'Not Comfortable with Online Examination'

Delhi University’s MA English students have expressed their problems regarding the online examination. Out of 183 students, 25 students of the MA English programme have said that they are not comfortable with online examination.

Moreover, Only 89 students studying in Delhi University’s MA English have access to computers, which will be essential to appear for the exam.

The final year masters students of the department have submitted this statistics along with a letter arguing that online exams should not be conducted.

The students of the department had conducted an online survey, in which 183 students out of a total strength of 328 were able to respond.

Students have stated that only 35 of them could regularly attend online classes, students have mentioned their incapability to write the exam despite being an open book.

In the letter, they have said, "The proposed online OBE format not only lack infrastructural viability (not just on the part of students but also from the side of the university whose servers even while declaring semester results often get bogged down) but is also devoid of any ethical strong-base; institutionalizing, in a blatant manner, inequality and discrimination. The proposed format and the haste to execute it against all opposition reflects poorly on the approach to education and its accessibility that the university endorses."

Students have suggested that the university must provide multiple modes of examination to the students.

As per the letter, 42.6% of students said that it should be a long essay question to be submitted in a few days, over 33% said offline exams post lockdown. While 26.2% suggested marks calculation on the basis of the average of the previous semester and the internal assessments.

"The University has said that the OBE requires only "limited internet availability" for downloading and uploading the question paper and answer sheets and has proposed a vague but complicated and unfeasible alternative in case there are glitches,” as mentioned in the letter.

It is a known fact that connectivity is an issue in most rural parts of India and even in cities. The university underestimates the struggle to download a question paper, added the letter.

“The university also forgets that the duration of availability of internet connection is not the question, but rather, the quality, consistency and accessibility of it,” said the students.

The students have demanded that the university should withdraw this discriminatory system.