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Seriously, this is a country where people walk ten thousand miles due to lack of subsistence facilities.
No final year exams!! It is not an urban myth of pass by catastrophe comes true. The University of Hyderabad (UoH) has taken such a bold decision by clearly understanding the grievances of the students amidst the pandemic. Already, the online classes and much boasted digital classrooms of various universities in the country are heavily criticized and denigrated as an unnecessary attempt to conceal the inherent weakness of the Indian education system. Indian universities including DU and other Central Universities are still conducting classes and requiring the students to submit projects and assignments on digital platforms without batting an eye towards the lack of facilities for a considerable section of the students. The digital divide seems to be not an issue for the stalwarts of Indian higher education. Despite the clamour of the students, particularly from the rural parts of the country regarding the injustice of digital classes and the corollary discrimination and class divisions, UGC and Universities are not ready to plug out. Shreya Atrey, a professor from Oxford University called digital classrooms as a double-edged sword. She clearly notified the psychological and social issues associated with the digital tutelage. However, the Indian universities are requiring the faculties to conduct all their educational activities through the internet with a predisposition that every student have a laptop and proper internet connection. Seriously, this is a country where people walk ten thousand miles due to lack of subsistence facilities. The higher educational institutions in this country have decided to take a downslide upon their standards of prudence and social commitment to merely boast themselves by showcasing some statistics of their performance. Such inconsiderate and reckless decisions from the paramount spheres of education have thwarted the very purpose of education.
The University of Hyderabad is the black sheep in the flock. They have decided to call off their exams and to award grades to their students based upon their past performances.
More importantly, the transfer of intellectual ideas and thoughts of both students and teachers through a relatively unsafe platform as well as, storage of projects and other intellectual properties on the servers of leviathan private firms such as Microsoft or Google is certainly not wise. Notably, Indian lawmakers are still reluctant to legalize the recommendation of BN Srikrishna on data protection and privacy. In spite of all such problems, the Universities in the country are adamant about conducting their examinations online. The University of Hyderabad is the black sheep in the flock. They have decided to call off their exams and to award grades to their students based upon their past performances. Any student who raises a concern on such awarded grade will be able to write a final exam separately. All other Universities of the country should follow the lead of UoH. Risking the life of students and creating an unnecessary divide between the have and have-nots is not really worth for conducting an examination. If the examination itself is going to be a catastrophe, then it is better to give a pass.
Cover Iluustration: Ikon
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