Tamil Nadu: No halls to write their tests, Ariyalur students occupy bus stands and stadiums

ARIYALUR: Students of Government Arts College in Ariyalur search by the roads and bus stops to locate a comfortable spot where they could write their exams. Ten days ago, the college announced semester examination for all students.

While final year students have been allowed to sit for the exam on the campus, first and second year students have been told to write it at home and submit the answer sheets at the college before 3 pm.

The exams began last week, and since then, more than 800 students from Jayankondam, T Palur, Sendurai, Koothur and Virudhachalam have come to Ariyalur, write the exams sitting on the roadside, relatively silent streets, under bus stops and a sports stadium.

The students said they would not be able to submit answer sheets on time, if they wrote the exams at home. While writing outside, however, comes with a lot of distraction. Many girls said unavailability of toilets is a major concern.

An 18 year-old BA (history) student said, "If we write the exam from home, we will not be able to submit our answer sheets by 3 pm. So are forced to sit somewhere outside the college and write the exam."

Another B.Sc student said, "My village is 30 km away. So writing the exam at home is out of the question. There will be no way to submit the answer sheet on time. We have no access to toilets. We are prone to the distraction caused by traffic and there is always a possibility of rain. A few days ago it rained and we had to shift our location."

When contacted, an official of the college said, "We instructed students to write the exam from home. They can also send answer sheets by registered post. However, they are coming here to write the exam." The college has also denied that they had asked the students to submit the papers directly before 3 pm.