KOLKATA: Several educationists, professors and principals, both former and serving, have raised concern over the demand of a section of students to conduct semester examinations online. It is time for academics to return to normal and students must also reconcile to it and prepare themselves accordingly, they felt.
According to them, it is only a small section of students who is trying to create unrest on campuses over the issue of offline-online examination as they are either not prepared for examinations or want to resort to unlawful means to get good grades.
Over the past few days, a section of students has been protesting in Rabindra Bharati University and Aliah University over the decision to hold offline exams. At RBU, where examinations began on May 18, almost all students turned up for the offline examination despite protests a day before.
“My colleagues and myself are in favour of the traditional offline method of examination for the students. When students of classes XI and XII have written their board examinations in offline mode, there is no reason for those studying in colleges to not take the examination in physical mode. Globally, we had to switch to online mode for the pandemic but now, the situation is under control and classes have been going on in offline mode for months. But we will abide by the decision of the university on the mode of examination,” said Siuli Sarkar, principal of Lady Brabourne College. The college is affiliated to Calcutta University, which is yet to announce on the mode of exams.
Educational institutes reopened in the first week of February after the two years of pandemic.
Educationist and former principal of erstwhile Presidency College Amal Mukherjee felt the demand for online examination was “unreasonable and unfair”. “During the pandemic, when classes were being held online, many students would not even log in to attend the classes. Now they are demanding online examination. This is unreasonable and unfair. This section of students must understand that worldwide, education has returned to the offline mode and examinations must also be held in offline mode,” said Mukherjee.
Universities like Jadavpur, Presidency, Rabindra Bharati and Aliah have decided to hold offline exams. Vidyasagar University has decided to conduct the examinations online after “considering request” from students.
Last week, the education department wrote to the universities, letting them decide the mode of end-semester examinations at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
Several teachers’ organisation have also written to their respective universities and the education department and appealed to students in general to return to offline mode. “A vast majority of students want offline examinations. We had seen how students had created pressure to reopen campuses. A handful of students is protesting against offline examination,” said Debasish Sarkar, general secretary of the West Bengal Government College Teachers’ Association.
