New Delhi, Apr 29 (IANS): While universities across the nation are pondering over ways to reach out to students to complete courses and conduct semester examinations, the Delhi University (DU) is yet to complete the previous semester examinations.
The DU is yet to announce results of various courses, including B.A. Economic (Honors) second semester and B.A Zoology (Honors) fifth semester, but is also devising ways to conduct next semester examinations.
In the past too results of semester examinations have beem delayed, this time teachers' strike and lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic have held up results by around four months.
The DU Examination Department on April 14 had confirmed to IANS that the university was planning to go ahead with the online examination, subject to suggestions of committees set up by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry.
"We see online examinations as the only way forward, especially when students should not leave their houses. But the final decision will be taken after these committees' report," Vinay Gupta, Dean (Examinations), had said.
Meanwhile, students are upset over delay in results of previous examinations.
Karan Gera, a student of Master of Commerce at the School of Open Learning (SOL), raised questions over the delay. "It's the result of a fight between DU administration and teachers. There has been no communication whatsoever about the tentative result dates. Will we ever get our result," Gera remarked.
The DU administration and teachers are at logger-heads over absorption of ad hoc teachers. Due to this, teachers boycotted the evaluation process in January.
The delay has converged opinions of the DU's two prominent student organisations.
"It has become the Delhi University Teachers Association's (DUTA) mentality now. They keep their demands over students welfare. Their boycott of the evaluation process has delayed results," ABVP's state media in-charge Ashutosh Singh told IANS.
"The trust deficit between the DU administration and the teachers must not be allowed to destroy students' future," Singh said.
Echoing Singh, media in-charge of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Lokesh Chugh blamed the DU administration for failing to work effectively.
"The mismanaged DU has been putting out plans to conduct examinations online. It has failed to announce results on time. They have also failed teachers, forcing them to resort to strike to get their rights," Chugh said.
Meanwhile, attempts of IANS through phone and WhatsApp to elicit a response from the Dean (Examinations) only hit the wall of silence.