Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Jan 9: Over 120 students of Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU) have approached the state high court, seeking to cancel a notification issued by the university to hold semester examinations offline, citing the health scare created by the new coronavirus strain.

The students have asked the high court to cancel the said notification and order the VTU to hold semester exams online. The petition is yet to be placed before the high court. The students have said in their petition that for attending offline semester exams, students will have to travel from various parts of the country and their chances of getting infected by COVID 19 increases.

The students said that a new strain of the virus has been found in ten students and holding offline exams will expose them to risks. It also violates the rights of the students to protect their health, the petition said. The students feel that the VTU, by opting to hold exams only offline, has violated rules even though the University Grants Commission has permitted the universities to hold exams online or offline. They have also prayed to the high court to instruct VTU to alternatively hold online exams too along with offline ones.