SC order on exams stumps students
BHUBANESWAR: They had packed up their old books and were looking forward to the road ahead. A few got jobs, others were getting ready to take admission in higher education or preparing for competitive exams.
However, Friday’s Supreme Court verdict, making it mandatory for undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students to appear in final year/semester exams has put many in a bind.
Since the state government cancelled the final year UG and PG exams on June 11 owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, most have moved on, despite the fact that the results had not been published after the government put it on hold following the July 6 UGC guideline, seeking offline exams for final year students.
“It has been more than two months and now we will again have to go back to our old books,” rued Srinibas Samal, a final year UG student of Utkal University. “While we should be looking forward to taking admission in PG, we are being compelled to go back to the old course,” he added.
Sikta Simran, a Plus III final year student of Rama Devi Women’s University, said a private company had offered her a job but she lost out owing to delay in furnishing the final year certificate. “Delay in UG final year examination has created problem for students. There might be more like me who may have had to lose out on jobs due to this problem. We are in a state of uncertainty regarding the exam,” Simran said.
Vaishnavi Rout, UG final semester student of Rama Devi Women’s University, said conducting offline examination during this situation could be risky. “Our final year subjects are still not complete. Conducting the exams after several months is only going to add to the worries for students. PG first year classes have started online in private educational institutions. Does a student now focus on the PG classes or revise the UG final year subjects?,” Rout asked.
Sonali Rana, a PG student from Balasore, said offline examination cannot be held in the state due to the Covid situation. “Many students may not be able to do it online as well as net connectivity is not same everywhere. Moreover, lot of them may not even have access to computers. Don’t know what will happen,” said a worried Rana.
Biju Chhatra Janata Dal (BCJD) president Rana Pratap Patra said students have stopped preparing for the final year exams but will now they have to revise their subjects.
Niranjan Das, National Students’ Union of India leader, said students are not in a position to appear in the final semester exams. “We respect the verdict of the Supreme Court. But the state government should file a review petition in the Supreme Court on this issue,” Das said, even as ABVP welcomed the move.