Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya -- which has planned to hold undergraduate and postgraduate courses exams in the month of March -- is caught between the devil and deep blue sea owing to a letter from National Testing Agency (NTA) and the parliamentary polls which are due in May next year.
In its missive, NTA has written to DAVV and 200 other odd universities across the nation not to hold exams, especially undergraduate final year/semester exams, in the month of March as it has planned Common University Entrance Test for admission to postgraduate courses in March.
NTA had recently uploaded the CUET (PG) date for admission to postgraduate courses. The NTA is going to hold the exams in the window between March 11 and 28. This letter has upset the university’s plan of holding UG final year and other exams in March.
DAVV has planned to hold exams in March as the model code of conduct for parliamentary elections will come into force in April and its teaching and non-teaching staff of the university will be put on poll duty thereafter.
“Though the voting will be held in May, the model code will come into play in April. With the model code coming into being much earlier before the voting, teaching and non-teaching staff -- who are responsible for holding exams -- will be roped into the poll duty. Resultantly, the exams could not be held in April and May. So, we have planned to hold at least UG final year exams in March. But the NTA’s schedule of CUET threatens to derail our plan,” said Prof Ashesh Tiwari, exam controller of DAVV.
He stated that the university has little scope for changing its exam plan.
“However, we will put the NTA letter before vice-chancellor Prof Renu Jain and discuss if the testing agency request can be entertained or not,” he added.
NTA delaying exam process since launch of CUET
NTA is holding CUET for admission to UG and PG programmes for the last two years. DAVV participated in both CUET (UG) and CUET (PG) since the launch. However, the admission process of DAVV got delayed in both these years due to a delay in exams and subsequent results. Receiving complaints about the delay in entrance exams for past two years, the NTA has decided to hold CUET (PG) early this year. It has fixed exams in March and planned to accept online registration in the month of January and February.
NTA can afford to hold exam in April, says DAVV
DAVV administration expressed shock over the NTA’s plan for holding CUET (PG) in March. “Keeping Lok Sabha polls in mind, the testing agency should have spared March for university exams and planned its CUET in April,” an administrative officer of DAVV said.
“NTA sublets contract of online entrance test to private players. So, private employees and not government employees, who have to do poll duty, are responsible for CUET (PG). Given such circumstances, CUET (PG) should ideally be held in April so that universities can hold their exams in March,” he added.
