Today, the Prime Minister addressed the nation and announced the extension of lock-down till May 3rd. Foreseeing the extension of lock-down many universities are already prepared to battle the upcoming final examination amidst the situation. This is a tough situation for everyone and the final year students will be affected the most said the Vice-Chancellor of R.G.V.P. college during an interview with Dainik Bhaskar.
Many universities are postponing their exams which were to be held during the month of March and April but because of the lock-down, they either had to cancel the exams and promote the students or to postpone the exams to June or August. But some universities in Bhopal are trying to conduct the exams online or to practice social distancing during the exam as a preventive measure to control COVID-19.
Online Exams due to extension of Lock-down.
During an interview, Prof. Sunil Kumar, the Vice-Chancellor of R.G.V.P. said that their top priority currently are the students of the eighth semester, who were going to appear for the final exams on 27th April. According to him, the exams of the other semester students can be postponed since the lock-down extended but they have to conduct the exams for the final year students as their placements and job offers will fall into jeopardy.
Their joining in the company will be affected due to the lag of the examination which the VC wants to avoid at all costs. He has decided to conduct online exams for the final year students to practice social distancing and to avoid any mass gathering.
Conduction of exams in Social Distancing, canceling the summer vacation.
Another college in Bhopal has decided a strategy to conduct the exams maintaining the social distancing among students. In an interview, R.J. Rao, the VC of Barkatullah University stated that their focus at this time is to conduct the exam which they have decided to go forth ensuring social distancing. The entire administration and academic team including the Registrar and the H.O.D’s of all departments are discussing the procedure of how to go about the examination via online conference calls. According to V.C., some exams had been already conducted for some departments before the lock-down but they couldn’t conduct them further. Procedures like finalizing the admit cards and preparing the papers for exams have been all finalized and completed via work from home. The University is planning to go ahead with conducting the exam ensuring strict social distancing even if it comes down to increasing the examination centers.
Whatsaap and Virtual Classes to the rescue amid lock-down.
Many colleges are using virtual classes to reach out to their students just like Atal Bihari Hindi Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal. According to Prof. Ramdev Bharadwaj, Vice-Chancellor of the college, he is conducting online conference calls with Registrar, Department Heads and other officials to battle the lock-down and conduct their doubt classes and exams.
He says that they have made several WhatsApp group for students where they are provided with online reading materials and their doubts are being solved then and there on the group. Virtual Classes are also going on in which questions and doubts are entertained. The video lectures, according to the report, are provided by the M.H.R.D. and are also shared with the students.
