Hyderabad: The OU and JNTU students JAC (joint action committee) held a demonstration in front of education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy’s residence on Monday seeking cancellation of physical examinations and holding of only online exams. The exams are starting on Tuesday.
A delegation of the students submitted a representation to the minister.
Hundreds of students from Osmania University (OU) and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) gathered at the minister’s residence in Srinagar Colony on Monday morning and shouted slogans against physical examinations.
The students told the minister they were worried over the prevalence of Covid-19 and the likelihood of a third wave. Most of the student community is yet to be vaccinated, they pointed out.
The minister assured the students that their request will be examined.
Aamer Javeed, senior vice-president of the Telangana Congress who led the students’ delegation to the minister, said, “When the University College of Engineering and other autonomous colleges are able to hold examinations online, the government can surely do the same for affiliated colleges. This is being done in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh too.”
He said, “The minister promised us that the interests of students from rural areas will also be considered as they may not have the same access to online resources as students from urban areas have. The minister asked the chairman of Telangana state council of higher education and commissioner of collegiate and technical education department to explore the possibility of holding online examinations for all undergraduate students of Osmania University and JNTU.”
"If nothing else works out, we urge the government to promote the undergraduate students as they've promoted CBSE, ICSE and SSC students. These are unprecedented times and exceptions must be made to save lives," he said.
