Stress & Uncertainty: DU’s Secret Recipe To Creating A Healthy- Progressive Environment For Students. The Barring Of 44 Students From Giving Their Exam.

4 July 2024, the morning started as a special one , filled with stress since it was an exam day for students of The Faculty Of Law, University of Delhi. But that wasn’t the case for everyone, while maximum students were revising for the exam, 44 Students stood uncertain as to what the day holds

This goes back to a day prior, 3rd July when The Faculty Of Law released a list containing 44 names, names of said defaulters, who did not meet the criteria for attendance and were hence suspended. It is truly heartbreaking, but this is not something new when it comes to The University of Delhi.

The suspension of students for not attending assemblies or meeting the principal with their parents, who live in different states. This isn’t something that catches students by surprise. Mistakes in question papers, last-minute releasing of such lists, the list goes on.

University of Delhi
One of India’s premier educational institutions, The University of Delhi, known as Delhi University (DU) was established in 1922 by an Act of the then Central Legislative Assembly. With its rich legacy of academic excellence and cultural radiance, it is truly a dream destination for higher studies for an uncountable number of students.

It started Initially, the university began with just three colleges and 750 students. Today, it has grown into a sprawling network of 91 colleges, 16 faculties, and over 86 academic departments. The University of Delhi is a hub for students from all across the country, with students leaving their homes and families to move into the metropolitan city.

While it is indeed a place that captures the attention of several lakh students with over 3 Lakh students applying annually to get admission, it has also been a reason for anxiety and pain of several students.

KEEPING UP WITH THE ATTENDANCE!
In Any and Every institution, students are expected to maintain the decorum by attending classes regularly, and any student failing to do so without any valid reason is held responsible, pretty understandable right?

However, this takes a rather distressful turn when it comes to DU. DU has always been the notorious university known to be a place where people take admission because attendance never matters, hence giving the students a chance to utilise their time as per their wish.

This has caused a sense of unruly behaviour patterns among the students. This was changed with DU’s rule that mandates students to have a minimum of 66% attendance to be eligible for exams, with those below 40% need to reapply for admission the following year. This comes out as an exercise to make the space more punctual and well-balanced, however, this hasn’t been the case.

A list containing names of 44 LLM Students was released on July 3 by the University of Delhi’s Faculty of Law, barring them from taking exams due to them not having ‘enough’ attendance. Their exams were to begin on the 4th of July, and out of 130 students, 32 were from the three- program and 12 from the two-year program were detained.

This isn’t the first time this has happened, however, the worst thing is that the list was released a day before the exam. This didn’t do anything but create enormous tension and anxiety among the students, because it is not possible for any student to talk to various Teachers and get some appeals made for concessions.
Another complaint that filled the area about the news was that teachers didn’t conduct enough classes, things like no conduction of extra classes for students who needed them for whatever reasons, these classes were conducted for LLB students but not for the LLM Students.

Students claim the list was released too late for any recourse and that teachers didn’t 5. LLB students facing similar issues were provided remedial classes, but LLM students were not. Students have argued that the decision has had enormous negative impacts on their academic and career prospects and are urging the administration to reconsider.

The issue here lies in several aspects:
The very delay in publishing the list containing names of the said defaulters.
This very act didn’t just cause a lack of time in the sense that students did not get enough time to seek help from the administration and their teachers, but this caused ample distraction and stress among the students preventing them from utilising their preparatory leave for its very purpose.

Mental Stress At Its Peak!
This event did indeed pretty easily cause anxiety and stress in the minds of students who were to appear for an exam the very next day. Exam season is in itself very stressful and this added uncertainty of their future, at its very base level caused stress, leading to difficulty in revision and other pre-event rituals.

THE DILEMMA OF EXAMS!
As if attendance being the utmost criterion for being eligible for giving exams wasn’t enough, DU is also notoriously known for its datesheets.

Delhi University students are appearing for their end-semester exams amid an intense heatwave, with temperatures reaching between 44 and 48 degrees Celsius. Despite the India Meteorological Department’s yellow alert, students must brave the heat to take their exams. They are taking various precautions to cope with the heat, such as carrying water-based drinks like nimbu paani and ORS, using protective gear like scarves to cover their faces and bodies, and opting for light-coloured, loose-fitting clothing.

With Even semester exam dates lining up in the soaring heat of May and the odd semester exams lining up in the bone-freezing chills of January. Exams are a word every student dreads, and what fuels this is the fact that students have to somehow always go through numerous things during their exam season.

It is truly a coincidence how every odd semester exam is scheduled on the very next day of Christmas and New Year, days that are both considered as an occasion as well as an indication of the freezing temperature outside.

Along with all the commotion that is caused by poor scheduling of exams and misconduct, DU is also infamous among students as a place where academic goals are rarely accomplished in the sphere of the classroom, aka syllabus barely ever completed. This neglect has been noted by several students, and the poor administration has always been a significant cause of tension and mental burden.

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