As many as 200 postgraduate final-year students of Visva-Bharati’s Kala Bhavana on Tuesday wrote to vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty and the Union ministry of education, seeking urgent talks in the wake of the varsity announcing that the sixth semester exams would be held from May 12.
The students said that under the University Grants Commission guidelines, the sixth semester examinations should be held three months after the semester classes started.
Here, they said, the guidelines had been violated. The varsity announced the schedule for the semester exams on April 13. However, the semester classes and activities at Kala Bhavana — the renowned institute for fine arts under Visva-Bharati — had only started from the first week of March after the prolonged pandemic-induced closure.
Yet the university had announced plans to hold sixth semester examinations from May 12, which meant that students did not get the full three months.
Sources said that students had appealed to Chakrabarty to allow them to discuss this crisis “as soon as possible”.
Students explained that those in Kala Bhavana needed the full time to finish their coursework as it involved studio practicals.
“Most students could not finish their final coursework or dissertation… We were able to access the studio only from the first week of March. So, we demand that the examinations be held according to the UGC guidelines,” said a final-year student of Kala Bhavana when asked why they sought more time.
Students claimed the time from March to May was insufficient to complete display-worthy canvases or sculptures in the studio for the exam.
“Art is a subject that needs time. Even if we want to work day and night, we can’t complete projects because in many cases we need more time to make our artworks good enough (for the semester exam assessment). If we are not provided proper time, our careers will be at stake,” said another student.
Acting public relations officer of Visva-Bharati Mahua Banerjee declined to comment on the issue.
Students late on Tuesday said that they were yet to get any official response from the varsity.
