Indore
Amid uncertainty, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya (DAVV) will commence winter season exams in offline mode on Tuesday but with its eyes glued on Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court which is likely to decide the format of exams.
Division bench comprising Chief Justice Ravi Vijaykumar Malimathand, Justice Pranay Verma on Monday virtually heard petitions challenging exams in offline mode when Covid-19 cases are on the rise.
Additional advocate general Pushyamitra Bhargav appeared on behalf of the state government, advocate Nimesh Pathak on behalf of the government, while advocates Manish Yadav and Mayank Verma and others kept petitioners’ side in the court.
Yadav and Verma told the court the DAVV teaching departments themselves were holding exams online due to Covid-19 crisis but the university wants to subject college students to offline exams.
The petitioners’ counsels claimed that some students have already contracted Covid-19 whereas parents of outstation students were not sending their wards for exams fearing coronavirus infection.
“What arrangements have been done by the university for such students?,” the petitioners’ counsels asked.
Verma said that they submitted in the court RTPCR reports of two Covid-19 positive students.
The petitioners’ counsels said that even the courts were holding proceedings virtually due to rising Covid-19 cases. Why can’t DAVV take exams in online open book mode as it did previously, they asked.
Bhargav told the court that the university was supposed to take a decision on coronavirus infected cases on Monday and subsequently a circular about the same would be issued.
After hearing all the parties, the court stated that it would again hear the cases on Tuesday. The court, however, did not give any stay on offline exams starting from Tuesday.
Offline exams in three shifts today
The winter season exams are to be conducted in three shifts on Tuesday. Apart from Indore, the exams will also be held in Dhar, Khargone, Khandwa, Alirajpur, Barwani, Jhabua and Bhurhanpur. Nearly 40,000 students will take the exams. On the very first day, MBA, MA, MCom, MSc third semester and BBA-BCA third semester will be held. LLB and BA LLB odd semester examinations will also be held. The examination will be held at 150 centres. Exam controller Ashesh Tiwari said that exams will be conducted in morning, afternoon and evening shifts. “All the preparations for exams have been done,” he added.
Yagna preformed, protest held on RNT Marg campus
The protests by NSUI activists against offline exams continued on Monday as well even as Congress too came in support of its student wing. While NSUI activists led by their leader Yash Yadav performed Yagna on RNT Marg campus seeking wisdom for the university authorities who were hell-bent on holding exams in offline mode despite rise in Covid-19 cases, Congress activists presented “Angad ka Per” to DAVV officers for not budging from their stand.
Special exams for Covid infectees
The university in the evening released a circular stating that students who are infected with coronavirus can skip the exams starting from January 18 as they are going to conduct special exams for them later on.
However, the university cleared that students infected with Covid-19 will have to submit test report confirming they being positive to their colleges.
Meanwhile, a circular with masthead of Vikram University went viral on social media wherein it was claimed that the university in ancient town suspended exams citing “unforeseen reasons”.
