Amidst the ruckus about a hike in the number of COVID cases, UGC issues a set of guidelines mandating the universities to conduct UG and PG final year examinations by September end. This caused an upheaval among the students and they filed a petition against UGC in the Supreme Court. UGC on the other hand claims to have emphasized the principles of health, safety, fair and equal opportunity for students. However, most of the students disagree.
"For the last 4 months, we have been away from the college campus, we don't have the resources and the UGC is asking us to take exams," said a final year engineering student incredulously. UGC's revised guidelines also have instructions regarding the mode of examination, them being 'online, offline or blended'.
Here is an explanation of why these 3 modes of examinations are out of the question. Conventional offline examinations are an "invitation to community transmission" said a petitioner from Assam which is also facing floods. While it is practically impossible to maintain a safe distance from everyone during exams, the use of hand sanitizers and mask also doesn't ensure 100% protection.
Transportation to the exam venue also poses to be a great challenge. Not only has it involved a huge amount of risk to use public transport at this time. It's not even possible for every student to be able to afford it. Airline prices have hiked. Trains and buses are also irregular. How are students whose hometowns are far away from their colleges supposed to reach there without taking a significant amount of pain? And what if the parents accompany them through their journey and get infected meanwhile, what would be the student's mental state? Students of Assam and Bihar are already facing a natural calamity and it's not the right time to push their limits.
Coming to the online mode of examination, a large number of students don't have technological resources - Laptops, a stable internet connection, a problem even the premier IITs face. UGC's faith in this medium is ridiculously far-fetched when the websites crashed even during mock exams. Most of the students living in remote areas even haven't been able to attend online classes. These students are therefore forced to opt for the offline medium even if it means making a bet on their as well as their family's lives. How is that fair to the poor and less fortunate students? Isn't this a violation of their rights?
The blended mode again is no solution but is blending the problems of both. Here the stance that UGC takes is "academic evaluation of students is a very important milestone in any education system". But is taking tests the only way of assessing talents? The students ask for them to be graded according to their previous year results and their internal assessment marks. They also agree on a viva. But the UGC still being stubborn, the ball now lies in the court of SC. As we await the hearing on 31st July, the students face the biggest dilemma. What do they do, put their career at stake, or put their lives in line?
