Mumbai: A July 22 circular issued by the University of Mumbai, asking affiliated colleges to declare four non-instructional days from July 24 to 27 to allow teachers to complete the answer sheet assessment and moderation work, was met with total confusion on Monday.
Some colleges complied with the instructions, others did so only partly, keeping students in the dark.
The Mumbai University circular was sent to principals of all affiliated Arts, Science, Commerce, Law, Technology and Management colleges.
At Mithibai College, students said there had been no clear communication from the college authorities about the non-instructional days. The college functioned for the first half of the day, before declaring the second half a holiday.
Siddhi Tanna, a student at the college, revealed that students faced a lot of confusion on campus on Monday. “I did not read the instructions on the notice board, but came to know about them when some of my friends came up to me and told me about the half working day at the college,” Ms. Tanna said.
It was pretty much the same situation at Pravin Gandhi College of Law as well. A notice was put up on the board during the break, announcing the non-instructional days.
“One of my friends had forwarded the Mumbai University circular to me regarding the non-instructional days. I tried contacting few of my teachers at the college, but they were unaware of the same. I came to the college in the morning and attended my regular lectures, and it was only after break that a notice was put up on the board about the half-day holiday,” said Sakshi Jolly, a law student.
Neel Shah, a BFM student at N.M College, Vile Parle, said, “We came to know of the holidays from the college website. However, during the day, another notice was put up saying that the college would be functioning for four days from Tuesday.”
A coordinator at R. D. National College said it was an important thing that the papers were being corrected at such a speed at last.
“Despite the same, we have adjusted our time-tables for students of degree colleges, and are functioning as per schedule,” he said.
Mumbai University registrar M.A. Khan told The Hindu, “I think it is a crucial step taken by the University in support of the teachers who were correcting the papers but did not receive support from their colleges, and against teachers who used to conveniently ditch the work. With such great support from the Chancellors and the Vice-Chancellors of various colleges, we will be able to adhere to the July 31 deadline.”
Talking about the problems that the students would face, Mr. Khan said, “It is a matter of four days, and the teachers can then take extra sessions and cover up the portion. It is important that this work be done as a priority.”
Meanwhile, teachers were supposed to carry out the assessment online, and were assigned codes according to their subjects for the work.
They were expected to correct papers online for six hours every day. However, due to some technical glitches, the process is now being done both online and manually.
The delay in declaring results has led to protests from students, who fear the delay may jeopardise their future.