The State government’s decision not to hold arrear exams for all, except final year students, has surprised academics.
Universities have been grappling for several months with the issue. A senior official at one of the universities said there is the question of feasibility of conducting the exam. Even if the online mode is decided on, there is no clarity on the method of conducting the exam.
“There is the also issue of connectivity. How are we going to ensure that the students access the exam paper and how are we going to evaluate the answersheets?” asked a senior official of the University of Madras.
Vice-Chancellor S. Gowri said he would have to hold discussions with the officials. The government’s decision came after Anna University called for bids from companies to conduct online tests. The bids were to be opened on Wednesday. It is understood that the Vice-Chancellor had written to the government that exams should be held.
When the university released the results of the odd semester a fortnight ago, the official of an affiliated college said the performance of students of his college was impressive, with some scoring a perfect 10 CGPA (Cumulative Grade Point Average), which had never happened before. He said the internal evaluation of the students had helped. The university exams were cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Former Vice-Chancellor E. Balagurusamy said the decision would affect the credibility of the university. He said a student is declared failed and required to re-appear for an exam, with the performance in both the internal tests and the final exam taken into account.
Universities do not conduct exams and declare results based on the “whims and fancies” of students and politicians. Universities are autonomous bodies and their syndicates, senates and academic councils have all powers and only they can decide on the conduct of exams and declaration of results, he said.
“I understand that many students have more than 10 arrears and scored even less than 20% marks in most subjects. How can a university declare these students pass just because they have paid the exam fees? It is absolutely ridiculous. Such an action will not only lower the academic standard of the university but would also badly affect its credibility,” he said.
“Governments have no right to interfere with the academic matters of universities and unilaterally cancel the exams,” he said in a release. “It is high time that the Vice-Chancellors woke up, realised their autonomous status and resisted any such unethical moves in the interest of the quality of education and the image of the universities,” he said.
S. Krishnaswami, former convener of the Tamil Nadu Federation of University Faculty Association, (TANFUFA), said universities should pass everybody and those who have arrears should clear them in a year. “You cannot penalise students because they don’t get through a paper you have set. They may have many problems. The fact that the student completes the course is more important. We had a student in M.Sc. who had arrears; finally, after five years when the whole syllabus changed, out of sheer frustration all the faculty passed her in all subjects. Now she is a scientist at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda,” he said.
Gopal G. Malavyia, formerly with the University of Madras, said, students from rural areas have difficulty and sometimes they make several attempts to complete a course. “Examination are a real and absolute criteria to assess a student.” A non-linear exam will mean the student will be treated differently. The question of suspicion will always be there. I know the students in rural areas who have difficulty in clearing the papers,” he said.
The government’s decision has helped students with genuine reasons for having arrears. S. Aravind, a student of a college affiliated to the University of Madras, could not write the exams in the fourth semester as his father died. “All the five exams were held within a gap of a few days. I had written only the first exam,” said the student, who is in the final year of B.Sc. Statistics. The internal evaluation was strict and covered the entire portion in the two assessments, he said.
“I got 30 out of 50 in internals. My college has doubled my internal marks. I have passed and since I have done well in the entrance test I will be admitted to M.Sc.,” he said.