Parul University students stage protest against offline semester exams from January 17

The management of the University said that the demand of the students cannot be met as the government has not issued any guidelines to prohibit physical examinations.

Parul University students staged a protest demanding the management to revise its decision to hold the mid-term examination in offline mode from January 17. A group of about 100 students allegedly gathered and marched towards the department office, demanding that the mid-term exams should be held in virtual mode owing to the rise in COVID-19 positive cases and its variant Omicron. 

The management of the University said that the demand of the students cannot be met as the government has not issued any guidelines to prohibit physical examinations.

Dr Devanshu Patel, President of Parul University told the Indian Express, “The protest was by about 100 students… We have a strength of 35,000 students and we cannot cower to such shows of strength.”“The government has not issued guidelines prohibiting universities from holding physical exams… These are a bunch of students who do not want to appear for physical exams as they are unprepared… appearing for virtual exams is easy,” Patel added.

Patel also said the university has “initiated a probe into the incident to ascertain how the students gathered in such a large number, flouting Covid-19 guidelines”.

Meanwhile, the student's wing of Congress the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), has urged that the examinations in colleges and Universities shall be held in online mode. Neeraj Kundan, President, NSUI, has raised concern over the rise in the number of COVID cases across the country.

While interacting with media, the NSUI Presidents said that the students and guardians from around the country have mailed and called us to raise the issue of online examination. The government and Higher Education Regulator, UGC, should look into the matter seriously and urgently. Considering the present situation, we can't compromise with the health of the students. 

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