As students await UGC guidelines, DU releases datesheet for final year OBE

new delhi: Even as speculations are on about the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines for the online open book exams (OBE), the Delhi University has released new datesheets for the final-year OBE for undergraduate and postgraduate students. The new datesheet confirms that the varsity will commence exams from July 10.

Previously, the DU open book exam was scheduled to begin from July 1 but the university decided to postpone the exam by 10 days. Later, in court, it was revealed that the Deputy Registrar's mother had tested positive for COVID-19 after which her entire family was sent into quarantine. The varsity informed the court that it had to postpone the exams at the last minute due to this development.

"The date sheets for the Undergraduate programmes as upload[ed] on the University website have been prepared as per the examination forms submitted by the students," an official statement from the university said.

Meanwhile, Delhi University professors took to Twitter, demanding that the Online Open Book Exams (OBE) be cancelled as it is causing distress to final year students. As students and teachers alike await the UGC guidelines, anxious students also took to social media urging for these directives to be released as soon as possible.

Students Federation of India (SFI) DU wing, along with other student organisations met Dr Jitendra Kumar Tripathi, Joint Secretary at the University Grants Commission for discussions on the subject.

The delegation raised demands of withdrawing the notification from the UGC website released on April 27 which directed the Delhi University to proceed with online examinations for final year/semester/term students and to introduce renewed guidelines which instruct the management to promote all students based on aggregate marks, as promised by HRD Minister Pokhriyal. Despite support from the UGC to do away with the online mode of examinations, the Delhi University has not budged from its position on the matter.

The joint delegation highlighted various concerns faced by the student community to the UGC. Sumit Kataria, SFI president said, "SFI has been employing all means to create pressure and we're trying not to fail the student community by maintaining the momentum of the struggle. We've submitted online petitions, memorandums, protested before the VC office taking proper precautionary measures but the administration has approached the student community with hostility and has refused any dialogue with the stakeholders."