In a ‘referendum’ of about 51,000 students of Delhi University, 85% voted against the university’s recent decision to hold open book examinations at home for the terminal semester students, the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA) said on Tuesday.
The survey, undertaken over 48 hours using a google form, was the largest such survey on the issue so far, DUTA claimed. An overwhelming majority of respondents said they belonged to regular courses (86.8%) as opposed to the School of Open learning, and 92.2% said they were enrolled in the undergraduate programme. A majority of these students, about 38% of respondent belonged to the third year, who would have to attempt examinations starting July 1. Also, 25.8% are in the second year and 28.4% in the first year. The rest were in PG courses.
Unprepared for exams
An overwhelming 80.5% said they could not concentrate on studies at home due to various reasons such as anxiety, livelihood and health issues, besides their home environment. A whopping 90% said they felt unprepared for the examinations. Among reasons for their difficulties, about 50% said they could access reading material while about 12% said they did not have access to any reading material. The rest said they could not access it. Nearly 74.1% had smartphones, 15.5% had laptops, 8.3% don’t have devices while the rest had either computers or tablets.
“The responses of the students confirm what the DUTA has been saying, based on the experiences of teachers’ engagement with students during this period,” the union said.
Considering that a large chunk of students has only smartphones and basic internet facilities, it is not surprising that only a small percentage have been able to access online teaching resources made available during the lockdown period, it added. The union demanded that the university explore alternatives which “do not disfavour a large section of students or promote dishonesty,” it said.
