Disclaimer: Originally published in April 2019. It is being republished since it still remains an interesting topic till today.
Life at Delhi University has been a hot topic of discussion for many years. We have grown up to people lauding about DU left, right and center but for me, that notion is slowly changing upside down.
College life for me has been full of high and low moments. But recently it has not been a happy ride for most students studying in DU. For me, it’s not different either.
I absolutely loved life at DU in my initial two years (partially because I was so involved in extracurriculars), but mostly because of the friends I got to make at my college. Apart from that, I don’t see DU giving me much in terms of academics.
So, let me tell you about some of the frustrating things that are happening with me in college recently:
The recent strikes have done more harm than good
I am taking nothing away from the cause of the strikes that had been happening in DU recently. Freedom of speech is our right and it should surely be expressed through strikes to make the authorities listen to our demands.
But what effect did it have on students?
Firstly, my parents continuously tell me to sit in classes as there is no better teaching than in your own classroom. But the continuous strikes have only resulted in more cancellation of classes than usual.
This, in turn, has resulted in the extension of colleges till 26th April (I guess) which is less than 2 weeks away from our semester exams. Due to this, the students have literally no time to study and especially with the 4th semester (the toughest semester) looming over me I have no option except to study.
As a result of this, all our internals and practical examinations have been delayed leaving no time for us to chill. Also, because of the pressure, I haven’t even watched Avengers: Endgame until now.
Also Read: What Are ‘Smart’ Identity Cards Being Proposed For DU Students?
The casual attitude and continuous mismanagement
So this is one of the reasons which prompted me to write this article. Today our batch was supposed to be given our admit cards for the upcoming examinations.
And in this one day, our whole batch of commerce (more than 500 students) was in college at one time to get their clearance and admit card formalities done.
This resulted in massive chaos, with never-ending lines all across the college. I literally had to stand in 4 long lines just to get my admit card.
But here I am with no admit card at the end of the day. I mean, why can’t this system go online?
Right now, I cannot afford to waste even 2 hours and due to this, I had to waste my whole day.
The problem of mismanagement in DU is not new and you will find this problem at every second thing that you plan to do in your college.
The outdated curriculum
Coming from a commerce background, I know for a fact that most accounting practices have now gone online and there is little practical use behind some things.
I have seen private colleges adapting to the new standards and updating their curriculum over time, but if you open a Maths book right now, you’ll see questions that were asked way back in the 1980’s examinations.
The sudden focus towards minimum attendance
People generally say that whenever a new Principal is appointed in college, the first thing he/she addresses is the attendance issue.
In my college there was no attendance issue at all and students who had 0 attendance were also allowed to sit for exams.
But in March (the time when the semester ends) we got to know that we were required to have a minimum attendance and reasons for not attending classes were asked from various students.
I mean why is there such a hurry? Why can’t this system be implemented from the next semester?
At least we will be more cautious from next time and would thus attend classes from the next semester to avoid this. This gives added burden on the faculty as well as the students.
All in all, DU has given me some pleasant moments that I would cherish for the coming years, but everything has its own disadvantages and I feel DU does more harm than good. This is true for me recently and I hope these usual problems are somewhat addressed in the coming years.
Image Credits: Google Images
Find the blogger at @AarooshJairath
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