A section of students are up in arms over the Karnataka State Law University’s (KSLU) decision to conduct examinations even for intermediate semesters. According to a notification by the varsity, exams for final semesters will commence from September 21 while those for intermediate semesters are scheduled to commence from October 5.
Students said the decision to go ahead with examinations for intermediate semesters goes against the University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines. Many students are demanding the examinations be postponed.
However, P. Ishwara Bhat, Vice Chancellor, KSLU, told The Hindu the university also comes under the Bar Council of India (BCI) whose orders were ‘abiding’ for KSLU. “BCI is a statutory body. They have asked us to conduct exams for intermediate semesters also. Based on their directions, we are getting ready to conduct exams for intermediate semesters,” he said.
Incomplete lessons
A student studying in a KSLU-affiliated college in Bengaluru said that the varsity should reconsider its decision as they have not completed their portions. “I returned to my hometown once the lockdown began. Ours is a professional course and it is impossible to study without a proper library. They have to conduct exams a month or two after the classes begin so that we have access to the library and also time to prepare,” the student said.
Students are worried about whether they will have time to prepare “With colleges closed for around five months and no online classes, how they can expect to appear for the exam. This is impractical as well as an injustice to students,” said another student.
Mr. Bhat added that exams for the intermediate semester are scheduled to commence from the first week of October and that the timetable would be released in a day or two. “However, it will be a tentative schedule.,” he added.
Former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah urged the KSLU to withdraw the exam notification ‘in the interest of students’ in a series of tweets. “Karnataka State Law University has notified examination dates for all the semesters. This is inspite of guidelines issued by State govt. & UGC to not conduct intermediate sem exams due to pandemic,” he tweeted.
He cited students’ concerns about completing the syllabus owing to the suspension of classes. “Many colleges & students have no adequate digital infra to conduct online classes. KSLU should be considerate enough to the problems of students instead of overburdening them with exams as well,” Mr. Siddaramaiah’s tweets read.
