GNDU to conduct examinations of exit classes from July 1st

Amritsar, May 31 (Punjab Post Bureau) –  The Guru Nanak Dev University has decided to conduct terminal examinations of only ‘exit’ classes of the degree and diploma courses at present. The tentative schedule of examination to conduct the theory and practical exams of the ‘exit’ classes is from 1st July to 20th July, 2020 and the date sheet has been uploaded on the Guru Nanak Dev University website.

Prof. K.S. Kahlon, Registrar of the Guru Nanak Dev University said that examinations of intermediate classes will not be held during this time and the decision regarding this will be conveyed later as per the unfolding situation in the wake of COVID-19 and the consequent instructions of Punjab Government.

On an average, 70% of the syllabi was completed before the lockdown/curfew was imposed in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and the remaining syllabi was completed by the teachers through online classes with help of social media and e-platforms. However, it is understood that the online teaching cannot be considered at par with face to face classroom teaching in terms of the delivery and communication of the subject matter and content. Keeping in consideration this limitation of online teaching instead of classroom teaching, the following measures have been adopted in the pattern of setting up question papers in the interest of the students in order to reduce the stress and anxiety in their minds:

       The mode of attempting five questions out of eight questions from four sections with a compulsory condition of attempting at least one question from each section has been now replaced with an open choice of attempting any four questions out of eight questions without the compulsory condition of attempting one question from each section. The duration of examination has also been reduced to two hours along with the requirement of attempting four questions instead of five. This flexibility will help in compensating the limitation being faced by the students in the absence of classroom teaching and other problems caused by situation arising out of COVID- 19.

The examinations of two subjects of two hours duration each are proposed to be clubbed together to make one continuous session of four hours in order to reduce the number of visits of the students to the examination centre by half thereby reducing the risk of exposure of the candidates to the extraneous environment.

However, the pattern of examination as suggested above will be fine-tuned in consultation with the heads and principals of various institutions and notified accordingly in case of any modifications. It will also be ensured that the practical examinations will be conducted from the set of practical’s actually conducted in the laboratories before the imposition of lockdown.

       The examination will be conducted strictly in compliance with the conditions of social distancing in a sanitized environment by making the seating arrangements with 6 feet distance between the candidates and by doubling the number of supervisors.

       However, keeping in view the dynamics of the prevailing situation in the wake of COVID19, the university authorities are constantly in touch with the principals of the affiliated colleges through webinars seeking their views to reach a consensus on this matter. Any changes in the tentative date sheet incumbent in the light of ever evolving situation and resulting government instructions will be communicated at the first opportunity to all the stakeholders.