Full-fledged college and university exams are unnecessary and avoidable

On Monday, the University Grants Commission issued fresh guidelines for conducting exams in colleges and universities. If the public health crisis justifies promoting second-semester students to the third semester without their being asked to take a traditional written exam, the same must apply to a final semester student. Some of the finest universities around the world award degrees to their students after conducting rigorous internal assessments -- assignments, term papers, theses, and even open book exams are legitimate tests of calibre. The National Law University, Delhi, has combined internal assessments and online open-book exams, but with 48 hours being allowed for submissions, unlike the three hours that Delhi University is giving its students. After Delhi University’s online mock tests this week were marred by several glitches, the administration denied any problems with their online testing infrastructure and blamed the poor Internet connectivity of the students.