Low Connectivity, Cheating Issues Likely To Impact DU Open Book Exams, Say Economics Teachers

New Delhi: Economics teachers across Delhi University (DU) have joined the league of those opposing the online Open Book examination.

In a letter to the Vice-Chancellor, the teachers referred to the issue of slow or no Internet connectivity that was felt even while conducting online classes.

“Based on strong student feedback and our own experience of the unsatisfactory, limited scope and coverage of online classes, we feel that there are very serious hindrances to time-bound online open book examinations in the pattern suggested by the university,” the letter read.

Another obstacle lies in the process of scanning and uploading answers wherein the server may take hours to upload answers while in some cases, connection might be too weak to sustain this process.

The teachers have also raised questions on the sanctity of these exams as the university can’t ensure that students are not copying from each other or being dictated by someone else. “This problem cannot be avoided by making it Open Book because these exams are open about source material but they strictly bar communication with anybody else, which can be easily violated here,” the letter enunciated.

Concerns have been raised regarding the question format of the exams since the sudden shut down of the university has left incomplete courses and ‘online teaching has been extremely uneven and inaccessible to many students’, the teachers told NDTV.

“Anyway, having a standard format like 4 out of 6 and that too, without parts is a very mechanical approach to conducting examinations when we have extremely diverse courses, whose specific nature and mode of testing varies greatly,” they further added.

Moreover, the teachers’ fraternity has submitted alternatives for the promotion of students. They have insisted on reiterating grading based on internal assessment while assigning no grade for this semester at all. “Many universities in the US are following similar methods,” the letter read.

The letter also suggests that the university allow the students to take improvement exams after the situation normalises.

Ex-students who were due to write their exams have been grossly overlooked by the university, it mentioned.

Also Read: DU Teachers Oppose Varsity’s Decision For Open-Book Examination