KOLKATA: Undergraduate and postgraduate examinations at Calcutta University will be held in online mode, the CU syndicate decided on Wednesday. The syndicate cited concern over the new virus variant Omicron as the reason behind not holding exams offline.
The syndicate meeting, held in offline mode after a long gap on Wednesday afternoon, had the UG and PG examinations in January and February as the main agenda. Third and fifth semester examinations of UG courses will start from middle of January along with third semester examinations of postgraduate courses. First semester examinations in both UG and PG courses will be held in February.
After nearly 20 months shutdown, offline classes resumed at CU from November 16. Most departments are following a hybrid mode for conducting regular classes in both online and offline modes. Few departments are holding classes on alternate days to maintain Covid protocols. Around 160 affiliated colleges are following their own methods to conduct classes.
The syndicate felt conducting offline exams with full strength of students in each department will make social distancing difficult. Vice-chancellor Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee said, “The syndicate unanimously decided to conduct the UG and PG exams in online mode because of concerns about the new variant. After all, health is the first priority.” The decision will be communicated to all affiliated colleges.
According to sources, the university has received huge number of applications from students asking for exams in online mode. For the past two years, evaluation has been carried out through open book exams. Calcutta University Teachers’ Association general secretary Sankhayan Choudhury felt the academic issues should have been discussed with teachers before taking such an important a decision.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/concern-over-omicron-cu-to-conduct-ug-pg-exams-online/articleshow/88173277.cms
