Calcutta University has decided to hold its undergraduate examinations in offline mode.
“Today, Calcutta University’s syndicate members unanimously accepted the recommendations of the members of all faculty councils, the chairpersons of all undergraduate boards of studies and opinions of most of the principals to conduct the coming even semester examinations in offline mode,” vice-chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee said in a text message after a meeting of the university’s syndicate on Friday afternoon.
“The syndicate also decided that all the principals of affiliated colleges will be well-advised to take steps to arrange special classes to complete the courses immediately according to the syllabi if not already done,” the text from the VC read.
Hundreds of students blockaded College Street in north Kolkata and sat in front of the university gates demanding online exams last Friday, around the time college principals told the vice-chancellor at a meeting on the campus that they favoured offline tests.
According to an official of the university, the protesting had cited incomplete syllabus as an excuse for the online exams. The syndicate thus issued an advisory to the principals on holding special classes if required he said.
A principal of a college in north Kolkata said they welcomed the decision because an unfair demand had been struck down.
“If these students had demanded special classes we would have considered it. But they were using this as a pretext to write the exams in the online mode, ” the principal said.
At a time when some of the universities like West Bengal State University, Barasat, resolved to hold online exams days after the Trinamul Congress Chhatra Parishad leaders wrote to education minister Bratya Basu demanding online exams, it was courageous of CU to stand up to the pressure, said another principal.
Some protesting students squatted in front of the gate facing College Street from noon on Friday. They dispersed around 6pm.
The TMCP supporters had insisted that since the education department in its April 27 advisory had asked the universities to explore the possibility of holding online classes along with other options from May 2 following heat wave-like conditions, the exams should be held online.
“The government had suggested online classes or going into summer recess or taking suitable measures. A large number of colleges continued with offline classes as the weather condition improved from late April. So, the undergraduate board of studies recommended that there was no need for online exams and the syndicate considered the recommendation to be just,” a CU official said.