Open Book Examination Results: Many Final-Year DU Students Marked Zero, Absent

On October 27, final year students at Delhi University received their results for the open book examination (OBE) held this year, but many of them either got a zero or were marked absent despite submitting their answer scripts on time.

These exams had been initially slated for March, but due to the pandemic they were rescheduled for August. As per a Delhi high court’s order, the mode of examination was changed to the open book format.

For the open book exam, the college had asked the final year students to either upload scanned copy of their answer scripts on the examination portal or to email a copy to the university. But the final results left many shocked.

“I had submitted my answer paper of macroeconomics on the portal before time and also got an automated email which said that my paper was received, but I was still marked absent,” said a final year B.Com student told LiveWire.

The students who had already applied for postgraduate studies have been left in the lurch due to the uncertainty of the whole situation. According to the students, neither the administration, nor the faculty have any explanation about the issue.

When the issue came to the limelight, the university issued a notification assigning a nodal officer to each college who the students can approach and get their results rectified. While many students have got their results rectified, there are some who still haven’t heard anything from their respective officers.

“We were asked to submit a set of documents supporting the successful submission of our answers scripts on the portal to the nodal officer, who then will forward it to the examination department. I emailed the documents on October 28, and I have yet to get a reply,” said another student on the condition of anonymity.

The administration, students say, are saying that a few answer scripts were submitted through multiple sources, and some didn’t have the papers codes and roll numbers properly written on them. As a result of which, some have been marked zero, and some absent.

“There are many students like me who properly wrote their paper codes properly besides other necessary details,” said the student. “The logic given by the university is clearly vague. They are perhaps trying to target us for taking the university’s decision to court.”

Students say that the discrepancies in the exam show that the university is not well equipped to conduct an open book exam. “They don’t have the required resources. Despite submitting everything on time, and following all the procedures, we are still getting such results,” the student added.

A few months ago, when the university made OBE mandatory for final year students, a group of students had filed a petition in the court challenging the decision citing the lack of adequate access to technology. But the court gave the judgement in favour of the university, after which the administration issued the notification detailing the procedure that needs to be followed for OBE.

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