The year 2020 has made us seem like we have stepped into a topsy-turvy world where everything seems unexpected and surprising. Pandemic hit and changed the lives of all the people around the globe, affecting many in various ways.
As a matter of fact, the student community of GGSIPU has also not remained untouched.
Throughout the year, a large number of students across India stepped forward demanding the examinations to be conducted online due to the highly-infectious virus which is continuing to take lives.
Yet again, stressed over the mode of upcoming end semester examinations, the students of GGSIPU have come forward to express their concern in front of the Delhi Government.
Students highly criticized the university’s order of conducting offline examinations during the pandemic period.
In support of over 4000 students, the India Wide Parents’ Association wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Education Minister Manish Sisodia on Monday.
“The students of the colleges affiliated to Guru Gobind Singh University are in a great dilemma because of the unfair decision of the university to conduct offline examinations during the pandemic whereas every other university has given the choice of online mode as well,” the association wrote to the Delhi Government.
They further added that not all students will be able to make it to the national capital to give their examinations as many of them are non-residents of Delhi.
“Parents are not allowing their wards to go to Delhi because of worsening COVID situation, and ongoing protests,” the students said.
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Plight Of GGSIPU Students Was Not Heard Before
On 28th August 2020, the Supreme Court passed an order stating the exams needed to be held.
GGSIPU responded to this decision and circulated a notice on 12th September 2020, which stated that the exams for final year students will be conducted in an offline mode from 21st September 2020.
This contradicted their previous notice (issued on 4th May 2020) statement which said – “if the colleges and the universities do not open until 20 July, they would conduct the exams online, which would have multiple choice and assignment-based questions.”
However, the university later removed this notice from its official website.
Even after repeated complaints and condemning, students’ voices weren’t heard and exams were conducted offline, though in a peaceful manner.
Law Students Condemned the University; Situation Considered After Long
Another incident that became controversial was the examination of the university’s final year Law students.
After several rounds of protest and criticism by the students and experts across the country, GGSIPU finally agreed to the plea of the students.
Earlier, the PIL filed by the students sought to set aside an order issued by GGSIPU dated September 30 which directed that examinations were to take place in physical form with effect from November 2, claiming it to be a violation of the Unlock down guidelines laid down by the Central government and other exam conducting bodies.
Later, citing an October 21 order issued by a Single Judge on a petition challenging the same notification, students were allowed to re-appear for the examinations once the University fully reopens.
Talking about the present scenario, the students said almost every university in the country was conducting online examinations or open-book tests and even promoting their students based on continuous evaluation.
“The Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is risking students’ lives because they don’t take it seriously.
Nobody is asking them to not conduct examinations, we are only requesting for choices,” the students wrote in their letter.
“We would be greatly obliged if you step into this matter and take control and take stern, quick action to make sure that the students don’t risk their lives to appear for exams. Their future now lies in your hands,” the students pleaded to the Delhi government.
(With inputs from- IndiaTV News, TOI, Millennium Post)
