1st day of UG, PG final semester exams pass off without glitch

Kolkata: The first day of the final semester of undergraduate and postgraduate examinations under the new normal passed off peacefully with the college principals heaving a sigh of relief. However, 25 odd students of Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose College in Kolkata who hails from remote areas with poor internet connectivity appeared for the examination physically from the college adhering to guidelines of physical distancing.

Bethune College Principal Krishna Roy said that the departments had conducted mock tests so that the students get accustomed to the new normal of online examination. "There was absolutely no problem and all our students answered questions and uploaded their answer scripts in the stipulated time," she added.

Indranil Kar, Principal of Surendranath College admitted that the college authorities as well as the students were tensed as it was the first day of examination under the new normal. "There were some stray complaints of low internet bandwidth in general course but the students were able to submit their answer scripts within the stipulated time. We are hopeful that the following days of the examination will also be without any hiccup," said Kar.

Ashok Mukherjee, Principal of Seth Anandam Jaipuria College said that 96 per cent of the answer scripts were submitted in online mode and a handful (4 per cent) students came physically and submitted their scripts in hard copy to the college.

The examination procedure was slightly different for Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose College in Kolkata where some 25 odd students turned up at the college and sat for the examination as per Covid physical distancing and other protocols.

"The University Grants Commission in its guidelines have said that examination can be held in offline or online mode or in mixed mode too. The students who appeared from the college had approached me pointing out their problem in internet access/electricity-related issues/ and unavailability of the smartphone too. I cannot deprive any student the right to appear for their examination. Hence, we had made arrangements for them and they sat for the examination from the college itself," said Purna Chandra Maity, Principal of the AJC Bose college.

Debasish Sarkar, General Secretary of West Bengal Government College Teachers' Association said that the common problem that was faced by the college authorities was the connectivity issue. "Students were allowed to submit a hard copy of their scripts by the colleges and some relaxation in time was allowed in the case to case basis," he added.