IIT Kharagpur has allowed flexibility in conducting classes in the ongoing semester — online or offline as deemed fit by the departments — but has asked all students to come to the campus by March 31 so they can write the end-semester exams offline in April.
“The offline test for all undergraduate and postgraduate courses, except for the first-year UG courses admitted through JEE Advanced 2021, will be conducted from 7th April to 13th April, in two sessions…. Please also note that the examination schedule may be extended till 19th April…” says a notice issued by the deputy registrar (academic) on March 8.
The dean of students, Dhrubajyoti Sen, told students in an email that the institute had decided to bring all students (except the 2021 JEE batch, for whom a separate decision will be taken later) to the campus by March 31.
A member of the IIT Kharagpur teachers’ association said conducting the end-semester exams offline was a must to ensure the sanctity of the examination process.
“We have received complaints that some students copied answers during online exams, which were conducted without any invigilation,” he said.
Devaki Nandana Vardhineedhi, vice-president of the Technology Students Gymkhana, which represents all students on the campus, said arriving for a short period could be tough for international students and the economically weaker ones.
“Some international students have cited their difficulty in arriving by the deadline,” Devaki said.
Another member of the students’ body said they spoke about the difficulty of the economically weaker students.
