IP University students suffering due to online exam chaos; University admn not responding to their requests

Nearly 2300 students of Delhi’s Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University are still waiting for resolution in a grievance notice they had filed six months ago, regarding a fiasco that happened during last semester’s online exams.

According to students, last semester the university had bought the subscription for Wheebox, an online platform for conducting exams. They had assured the students that in case of any technical glitches or issues, they would conduct a retest. However, even though a lot of students couldn’t access the question papers, were unable to submit their copies, and some couldn’t even take the exam, the proctor who was supposed to oversee the exam, remained unreachable to the students. And now, the university has turned its back on them.

A final year MA English student, who wished to remain anonymous because her fourth semester results are “still in the university’s hands”, said, “The university simply gave us an F for no fault of ours. The problem is that we have received no official justification about being marked with an F. We don't know if we have to wait to clear our arrears.”

She added that in addition to the stress of a bad grade, she now cannot sit for placements and interviews, or apply for her higher education. “So now when I sit for interviews which might only be next year, I will have to explain why I wasted six months of my life,” she says.

She adds that the students faced the same issues during this semester’s online exams as well, and it was only because of the help of a few professors that they could complete their exams on time.

Another student, who is pursuing MA Economics, said that it’s extremely distressing that the students are not getting any compensation in a situation that was not their doing, and the university should have a transparent procedure to help them out.

As of now, no retest date sheet or any notice has been given to the students who filed a grievance complaint. Many students have taken to Twitter, over the past few months, to voice their issues and seek help, but to no avail.