Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi. (File photo)In a departure from its earlier decision, Jawaharlal Nehru University will no longer hold online entrance exams in December. The exams have been shifted to May 2019, as per a decision of the Academic Council (AC) in its emergency meeting held Friday.
While the JNU Teachers’ Association alleged the delay was because the varsity was unable to find a private vendor to conduct the exams, the Registrar said they have been postponed keeping in mind the “difficulties of students” in writing the exams in December. Attempts to reach the Registrar on the nature of these difficulties did not yield a response.
In a statement, Registrar Pramod Kumar said, “The 148th Academic Council of JNU, in its meeting held on December 7, decided to hold the computer-based JNU Entrance Examination, 2019-20 in May, 2019, keeping in view the difficulties of students to write the examination in December. The Vice-Chancellor informed members of the Council that the National Testing Agency (NTA) has agreed to conduct the Computer-based JNU Entrance Examinations…”
“JNU is the first Central University to be collaborating with NTA to conduct its national-level entrance examination. To make them accessible to applicants from remote areas, the number of examination centres will be doubled… Mock test centres will be introduced to familiarise applicants with computer-based entrance examinations,” he said.
JNUTA said AC members were “sought to be silenced, threatened and humiliated” at the meeting. “Several teachers wished to express that JNUEE should be held in offline format… but were not allowed to speak and rudely insulted by the V-C,” said JNUTA president Atul Sood.
