Disruption in semester exams at DU sparks criticism from students, faculty

The varsity said the issue was later addressed and the question papers were sent subsequently. “The inconvenience caused is deeply regretted,” the notification, signed by Controller of Examinations Gurpreet Singh Tuteja said.

The notification added that students enrolled in Honours courses who were scheduled to appear in three core subjects were allowed to take four slots across the subsequent three sessions. For programme courses, the university said revised slots for the affected schedules would be announced separately and that the examinations would be conducted by the second week of January.

The delay triggered a protest by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). The student outfit alleged administrative negligence in the distribution of question papers, saying students were left waiting for several hours without clear information, causing mental stress and uncertainty. In a memorandum submitted to the Controller, ABVP demanded an immediate solution for students whose exams were affected.

Faculty members across colleges also flagged the delays. A faculty member from the Department of Philosophy said that students in several departments and colleges had been waiting since 9.30 am to appear for the exams. “It has been more than two hours and the question paper is not here,” the faculty member said.

Miranda House faculty member Abha Dev Habib said the incident reflected deeper systemic stress in the examination process. “In each college and examination centre, papers for 30 to 70 Discipline Specific Courses for Semester VII were listed according to the datesheet,” she said.

The NEP-driven four-year undergraduate programme, she added, had significantly increased the number of examinations due to additional papers, expanded choices and an extra academic year. “Examination work has increased manifold. This is leading to a systemic collapse,” she said.

The delay comes against the backdrop of criticism from faculty earlier this year over the university’s academic calendar. In October, teachers had raised concerns over what they described as an “unworkable” overlap between examinations and the start of the new semester, when the administration issued a tentative calendar.