KOCHI: The notification by Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) announcing that the sixth-semester BTech intermediate examinations will be held after the Onam holidays next month has caught students off-guard.The students allege that conducting the examinations while they are in the middle of classes of the odd semesters, complete with assignments and other related works, will ruin their performance in both semesters.
“Had the pandemic not struck, the said examinations would have been held in May. We had repeatedly asked our faculty members and the university authorities about the examinations, but did not get any information or notification. There was even a post from one of the authorities hinting that there won’t be any examinations and that students should nurture their creative and technical skills in the meantime,” said a student. Then, in the first week of August, the university issued a notification that the odd semester classes will begin from the next Monday (August 10).
“We started attending the online classes, despite problems like network issues. Some student had to lean on their balconies or stand out in the rain to get proper connectivity,” said the student. Now, the university has sprung another surprise, said students.“The previous semester examinations that were postponed indefinitely are being conducted in the middle of the new semester classes. It has been six months since anything related to the last semester was taught,” said another student. They said this lack of continuity in studies had affected them.
“Also, the pressure we face under normal circumstances is itself tremendous. Now, the university is burdening us with the pressure of two overlapping semesters. Some students are one supplementary paper away from dropping out. They have reached breaking point,” said a student. They also said Cusat was showing “double standards.”
“It has promised to conduct offline examinations for students who won’t be able to appear for online tests owing to network issues. Does that mean there will be two question papers?” asked a student.However, the university said the students were trying to get away with not writing the examinations. “The classes for the odd semester were stopped since Tuesday and special classes have been arranged for students to clear their doubts. They have ample time to learn and write the examinations,” said a Cusat official.