NEW DELHI: The commencement of Delhi University’s semester examinations on Tuesday was significantly delayed, as question papers for several courses failed to reach examination centres on time. Students and teachers who arrived early for the morning shift exams were left waiting for hours, with some examinations beginning as late as 1 pm instead of the scheduled 9:30 am.
According to faculty members, question papers for more than 35 courses were not delivered to multiple colleges across the university. The delay caused severe disruptions, especially because the same classrooms were scheduled to be used for the evening shift exams, which were to begin at 2:30 pm. As a result, students, invigilators, and college administrators faced mounting stress while attempting to manage the situation.
A professor from the Computer Science department, Professor VS Dixit stated that two papers including Digital Image Processing and Compiler Design were not received across the university until around 12:30 pm.
“Students were made to sit inside examination halls for hours waiting for the papers. In such situations, the exam should ideally be cancelled,” Professor Dixit said, highlighting the inconvenience caused to examinees.\
The semester examinations for both regular students and those enrolled with the School of Open Learning (SOL) began on December 10.
However, disruptions were reported from the very first day, with faculty members pointing out that examinations for the outgoing semester overlapped with the start of new semester classes.
The scale of the disruption was significant, as each college was conducting examinations for anywhere between 30 and 70 discipline-specific courses for Semester VII, as per the official datesheet.
Teachers attributed the chaos to a sharp increase in the number of examinations under the National Education Policy (NEP)-driven Four-Year Undergraduate Programme (FYUP). With more subject options, additional semesters, and an extra year of study, the examination workload has increased substantially.
“The number of exams has gone up manifold. The system seems overstretched and close to collapse,” Professor Abha Dev Habib stated.
Senior professors suggested that frequent academic changes introduced under the NEP may have contributed to the lapse. One professor alleged that several question papers may not have been properly logged into the system due to repeated revisions. “It is the responsibility of the examination department to ensure papers are prepared and delivered on time,” the professor said, criticizing the lack of coordination.
Academic Council members also raised concerns over the frequent changes to FYUP guidelines, calling them unreasonable and a source of uncertainty. While the FYUP was intended to offer flexibility and multiple exit options, faculty members argue that its implementation has instead resulted in confusion and administrative challenges.