CHENNAI: With the exam season on in most colleges, students of colleges affiliated to the Anna University complain that their exam schedule is stretched for over a month.
In contrast, the exam schedule of Anna University students is as short as just a couple of weeks.
Affiliated college students lament that it is leading to unnecessary waste of time. They are unable even to attend other courses.
Students who stay in hostels face difficulty due to heat and water scarcity. According to the students, even if they want to pursue other crash courses, they are unable to do so, due to the prolonged period of examination.
In most of these colleges, the exams start in the beginning of May and end in the beginning of June or sometimes continue till mid June. However, for students of the College of Engineering, Guindy, which directly functions under the Anna University, the exams would end in April itself.
A student of Rajalakshmi Engineering College, who requested anonymity, said during the peak summer, the examination will go on and continue for a month. “Some exams have only two days of study leave, while for some other exams there are 10 days leave. Maximum one or two days leave before exam is sufficient,” he said adding that 10 days leave is just a waste of time. Day scholars still could manage but for hostel inmates it is hardships ahead.
Another student from St Joseph College said even if they want to devote their time to prepare for other courses, it is not possible.
“Internships require a lot of time. With exams going on for more than a month, I can’t devote myself to these courses. It is a huge waste of time,” he said adding that the gap between two subjects at times has been two to three weeks. He further said before the exam students are not allowed to go outside the hostel.
Similar is the case in other colleges like Jeppiaar Engineering College and Panimalar Engineering College. A student from Jeppiaar Engineering College said the prolonged one month examination makes lives of the hostel inmates difficult.
“There will be water scarcity and the rooms will be very suffocating,” he said.
An Anna University official said they have heard students complain about the prolonged period of examination, but the examination is conducted based on subject code. “For instance, Mechanical Engineering students cannot have two subjects on one day. So naturally it takes a longer time,” he said. But since the students strength in the university is very limited, the exams can be conducted quickly. The officials said the same is difficult for affiliated colleges.