MU exams see 30-min delay

Mumbai: Day one of the summer examinations conducted by Mumbai University’s Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) began on a bad note owing to alleged mismanagement by the authorities coupled with unavailability of staff. First year examinations began 30 minutes after reporting time, putting F.Y.B.Com
and F.Y.B.A students in a fix; no one was present inside the exam centres to coordinate.   

Nearly 1,800 students appeared for the said examinations at centres inside the MU’s Kalina campus. Schedule to begin at 10am, the exams started after 10.30am as there was no staff or supervisors at the centres. F.Y.B.A students had their “communication skills in English” paper for which they had been asked to reach the centres before 9.50am.

A F.Y.B.A student said, “Even after reaching college by 9.30 am, we spent around 30 minutes finding our centres as there was no clarity about which classroom or which seat number had been allotted.

After finally reaching our centres, there was no one there, which made us wait for another 30 minutes.”

It was only after students created a ruckus outside the examination centres that MU officials arranged for staff to handle the students and get them to enter the exam hall and start writing their papers.

Vinod Malale, PRO, MU, said, “There was certain confusion among the students as it was the first day of the exams. However, we tried to solve all the issues and gave extra time to the students which they lost at the beginning of the exam.”

Earlier, the IDOL delayed issuing of hall tickets. Supposed to be given 10 days before the exam, the hall tickets were given barely a day before the exam, leaving the students on tenterhooks till the last minute.