Hyderabad: The MANUU (Maulana Azad National Urdu University) Students Union (SU) has asked the university’s administration to not conduct online exams or assessments.
According to the extracts of a 38th meeting of the academic council held on May 12, “As per recommendations of the UGC Committee, the end of semester examinations shall be conducted through online mode to ensure social distancing with a view ‘stay home stay safe.’ The decision shall be taken at least 15 days before the commencement of the exam. CIT (Centre for Information Technology) shall ensure that necessary arrangements are in place for conduct of examination in online mode.”
In a letter addressed to the In-Charge Vice Chancellor, the SU states that not all students have access to internet, smart phones, or even laptops. That too amidst the pandemic that has tacked on further distress and insecurity particularly among the lower middle-class strata. They requested to not evaluate students based on such exams.
It instead suggested an alternative means to evaluate students for this semester.
They suggested the following criteria to assess the students:
- Grading should be a composite of 50 per cent marks on the basis of internal evaluation plus assessment and remaining 50 per cent marks on
- The practicals, projects and etc. should be conducted through the viva mode and the marks should be graded as 100 per cent in their respective practicals
- If a student is unsatisfied with their grades, they should be allowed to take a special/improvement exam in the upcoming semester
Students Union President, Umar Faruq Quadri, feels that implementing these suggestions will decrease the burden of students already undergoing tough times due to the pandemic.