Degree exams postponed to after Diwali

MUMBAI: It appears that the degree students of Mumbai University (MU) will not have an enjoyable Diwali vacation this year as Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) and third-year Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) semester exams have been postponed to after the vacation.

The examinations, which should have been held before the vacation, have now been scheduled for after the vacation owing to the late start of the academic year and ongoing practical and internal examinations at the college level.

The students are now burdened with the thought of having to study during the Diwali vacation. “The situation was quite weird a few days ago as our external and internal exams were clashing due to close dates. So, if you think about it, if the university had not postponed the dates, it would have been a problem. Now that the university has postponed, that is a problem, too. Either way, we students are going to have to struggle,” a T.Y. B.Sc. student told this newspaper.

Students who had made plans for their Diwali vacation are not cancelling the same due to exams after the vacation.

On Monday, the varsity announced to postpone the third-year B.Sc exams which will now commence from November 13.

According to the PRO of the MU (examinations), Vinod Malale, the main cause behind pushing the dates after the vacation is the college-level internal assessment and practical examination that is underway. “If we conduct them both at the same time, it will put a lot of pressure on students. Hence, giving them sometime in-between will unburden them and give them plenty of time to prepare for the exams,” he told this newspaper.