CHENNAI: Anna University’s decision to conduct semester examinations for undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students in physical mode has not gone down well with many private engineering colleges. In this regard, the Consortium of Self-Financing Professional Arts and Science Colleges in Tamil Nadu is likely to request the university to reconsider its decision. The examinations are scheduled for December.
Joint Secretary of the consortium TD Eswaramoorthy told TNIE, “On Monday, a team of our representatives will submit a letter to the university vice-chancellor (V-C) urging him to drop the idea of conducting physical tests this semester as students are not prepared to write the tests offline.”
Many private colleges complained that for the last three semesters, the students have been writing online examinations and they need some time to get well-versed with writing long-form answers within the stipulated time. Eswaramoorthy said the issue was discussed at the consortium meeting and the majority of the colleges went for online examinations.
“After the December semester, we would conduct sufficient mock physical examinations to ensure students are able to write their papers properly. This semester, we got no time,” said the principal of a private engineering college in Namakkal, S Jagannathan.
Secretary of Sengunthar Engineering College A Baladhandapani feels that the threat of the impending Covid-19 third wave and persistent rains will make it difficult for colleges to physically conduct tests. “Majority of colleges don’t have adequate infrastructure to conduct the tests by following social distancing norms,” he added.
However, V-C of the varsity R Velraj seems firm on his decision. “We cannot avoid physical tests for a long time as it will affect students’ performances. Colleges have reopened and it is the right time to get back to physical tests,” he said.