Four days after the commencement of the open-book exam (OBE) for final year students, the Delhi University on Thursday evening issued a press statement saying the exam is being conducted successfully and a large number of students have appeared and submitted their answer scripts.
In view of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the university had previously decided to conduct OBE for the final year regular, and open school students as a “one-time measure”.
“In the last four days, students have successfully attempted and submitted their answer scripts on the OBE portal of DU. Some of our students, who at present are in remote/ far-flung areas have submitted their answer scripts via the option of email available to them. Students with special needs have also been given the option to send answer scripts by email,” the press release said.
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“Cumulative data shows that the number of papers attempted by regular, NCWEB students and SOL is 110085 and 154142, respectively while the answer scripts submitted by regular, NCWEB students and SOL students are 82496 and 108846 respectively on the OBE portal,” the statement further said.
DU’s statement came amidst media reports claiming glitches in the open book examination. News agency Press Trust of India previously reported that many students faced difficulties uploading answer sheets due to technical glitches as the website briefly crashed while they were trying to upload their answer scripts. Students have also complained about the glitches during exams on social media and reached out to their teachers for help. Some students also raised issues like — poor network, power failure at home due to which the page blanked out multiple times, not receiving acknowledgment receipts from the varsity after mailing answer sheets, tough questions, and lengthy question papers.
In most Indian educational institutions, it is actually a miracle to find a working computer and WiFi connection with proper bandwidth. In the midst of such technological deficiency, any sort of online module is bound to fail, yet there is an improvement. Unlike every student, there are students who struggle with having basic facilities of the internet connection, signal, and electronics yet there has been full participation from their side in the online assessment but there has been great participation from students, and results are observed.
Petitioners have argued that many students have not been able to access the online examinations and have also cited technical problems. The varsity in turn was asked to provide its preparedness for conducting the examination.
