Even as almost half the academic year is set to end for students of regular colleges in Delhi University, first year B A students of the School of Open Learning (SOL) said that they have no clarity about when they can expect their physical study material and the commencement of their contact classes.

Ram Rathore, a student of BA Programme at SOL, said that multiple visits to the school have not yielded any clarity. “I paid my fee around October 13 and came the next day to pick up the study material, but I was told to come again in November. On November 1, I was told to try after a few days. The caretaker has now told me that I will get the material after November 25,” he said on Tuesday.

The semester exams for undergraduate students in regular colleges will commence on November 30. Rathore expressed concern over the fact that his friends who study in regular DU colleges have already written their internal tests for the first semester.

According to SOL authorities, the delay is because the admission process was delayed by two months and concluded on October 20. “We usually try to begin our admission process in June and conclude by the end of August. However, this year the process began only on August 10. Now that it is done, they should be able to pick up the material from November 12 onwards and classes, too, should begin soon,” said SOL Executive Director H C Pokhriyal.

The annual examination for SOL students takes place in April, teachers said. “The system is that a student should be given their study material immediately after admission and they deserve it. The executive director should answer for the delay,” said staff council secretary J Khuntia.

Teachers said that though the physical study material has not reached students, readings have been uploaded online and the library can be accessed.

However, Zaki, a first year B A Programme student from Shakurpur, said: “My father runs a roadside helmet shop. We don’t have a computer at home, so the only way I can read those is on my phone, which is a huge strain. We don’t know when the contact classes will begin; without that, we don’t know the study pattern to follow.”