MU’s IDOL announces new dates after students face technical glitches during online exams

Meanwhile, the final-year exams for regular and repeater candidates of BA, BCom, BSc (information technology and computer science) of IDOL are being conducted online from October 3 to 17. The next paper is on October 6.

Mumbai University's Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) released new dates for the final year exams. The announcement came a day after several students of the distance learning institute claimed that they were unable to write the final-year exams for graduation courses on day one due to technical glitches. A statement issued by the institute on October 3, 2020, stated that the re-examination for third-year BCom students will be conducted on October 9, and for third-year BA students on October 14. The spokesperson of IDOL Vinod Malale stated, “We do not have information on the exact cause of the technical glitches. However, we will be rescheduling the exam for all students who could not appear for their papers.”

So far, Malale said, the institute, does not have data on the exact number of students who could not take the exams on Saturday, but said, “BSc students, being fewer in number, did not face much problem”. Meanwhile, the final-year exams for regular and repeater candidates of BA, BCom, BSc (information technology and computer science) of IDOL are being conducted online from October 3 to 17. The next paper is on October 6.

On October 3, several students approached MU after they failed to take the exams online. Talking about the issues faced during the online exam, BA repeater student Parshuram Tapase said, “The link given to us was not loading in my phone and laptop, and displayed an error message. After I went to the university, the official tried logging in using my details from the computer there but received the same message. I missed my exam. It was surprising to see that no representative of the service provider was present and the helpline number kept me on wait for over 20 minutes.”

Umesh Rane, a BCom student who was to appear for his exam from Ratnagiri, said, “The exam was supposed to start at 1 pm. But after I logged in, I found that the paper was not uploaded. It was blank. I sent a frantic mail to the email address given to us but the reply has not been relevant. I have mailed them again.”

The horrific glitches made the state Higher & Technical Education Minister Uday Samant tweet from his official Twitter account, “Each university has been directed to conduct re-exam of students who could not appear for exams due to technical glitches. Students need not worry.”

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Students Welfare Association appealed to the minister to take action against the faulty service providers to ensure similar situations do not arise again. Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena State vice-president Santosh Gangurde, too, said, “When affiliated colleges have been given permission to hire their own software providers, why hasn’t the same autonomy extended to IDOL to conduct exams? We demand the minister to take action against faulty service providers for causing panic among students.”

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