Delhi University’s tentative date sheet for its upcoming semester examinations has drawn sharp criticism from faculty members who have said that the academic calendar sets up an “unworkable” overlap between examinations and the start of the new semester, risking severe disruption to teaching and evaluation processes. According to the schedule uploaded on the university’s examination portal, undergraduate exams for semesters I, III, V and VII will begin on December 10, 2025 and will continue till January 30 next year. However, as per the academic calendar, classes for the even semester are scheduled to commence on January 2, 2026 — leaving a nearly month-long period during which exams and new coursework will run simultaneously. Teachers say this overlap will place unprecedented strain on both faculty members and students. “This will amount to an immense increase in load on teachers and students, with no break before college resumes for the next semester,” said Rudrashish Chakraborty, faculty member at Kirori Mal College. Speaking to The Indian Express, Controller of Examination, Gurpreet Singh Tuteja, said: “This is the first draft and we are trying to reduce (the examination schedule).” Abha Dev Habib, Secretary of the Democratic Teachers’ Front (DTF) and Associate Professor at Miranda House, claimed that the schedule has “left students and teachers perplexed”. She added, “Lakhs of students are supposed to take exams and (attend) classes for the next semester simultaneously. Teachers are also supposed to teach … and do examination-related work — invigilation and evaluation — at the same time.” Faculty members also say that the problem will be compounded by the simultaneous examinations of School of Open Learning (SOL) and Non-Collegiate Women’s Education Board (NCWEB) — a combined enrolment of nearly nine lakh — which will strain campus infrastructure and force colleges to shift the initial weeks of the new semester online. “Online teaching in the beginning of the courses, especially with students still preparing for semester-end exams, is a farce. It will destroy the teaching-learning environment,” Habib said. Teachers have demanded that the university extend the winter break and ensure the next academic session does not begin before examinations conclude.
