‘Taking online exams will prove difficult’

Nearly 72.2% of surveyed DU students said they had Internet connectivity issues

May 13, 2020 01:00 am | Updated 01:00 am IST - New Delhi

Woman hands over the laptop keyboard.

Woman hands over the laptop keyboard.

Over 74% of Delhi University students, who took part in a survey by the All India Students’ Association (AISA), said they would have trouble taking online examinations, the group said on Tuesday.

In a survey of 1,500 students from the university, the AISA asked questions regarding online examinations as well as other issues. The survey gains significance in light of a recent notification from the university’s Dean of Examinations inviting suggestions and comments on holding examinations in the present academic year.

With regard to availability of smartphones or computers, up to 62.6% of the students surveyed said that they did, however, nearly 72.2% of these students said that they had connectivity issues as a consequence of which they could not attend online classes. Apart from this, 11.6% said they couldn’t attend classes due to financial incapability and 7.6% said they were facing difficulties due to household chores.

Study material

Among those surveyed, 44.4% said that the college or department was undertaking online classes while 37.7% said that only some classes were being taken. Most students, however, said that only a few teachers were providing study material with nearly 23.4% saying that they weren’t provided study material in the language of the examination.

Only 22.4% of all surveyed reported that they were able to attend all online classes. Apart from this, 68.2% students also said that they were facing difficulties paying rent.

In separate surveys carried out by SFI, Ramjas College, over 60% of the students did not have access to continuous high-speed Internet and at LSR college, 40% students did not get continuous supply of electricity, the group said in a statement.

Arguing against the online classes to complete the syllabus and conduct examinations, the SFI said, “It is highly worrying to know that a 15-member working group on examinations formed to study all matters related to examinations, review the preparedness to conduct the examinations of 2019-20 session and take appropriate steps in this regard do not have student representation which raises the concern of the students’ plights being neglected.”

Top News Today

Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.