MUMBAI: The Mumbai University finally issued a circular on examination schedules on Wednesday. Semester VI exams for final-year students in arts, science and commerce colleges will be held between May 6 and 21 (see box). Colleges are expected to complete the first- and second-year exams before that — from April 15 to May 5. The schedule for exams in professional courses such as engineering, law, architecture and postgraduate courses will be released soon. The paper pattern and the marks weightage will remain similar to that of the winter exams held in December. However, for arts, science and commerce courses, students will have no choice in questions like they had in the previous semester. The question paper in the winter exam had 50 multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and students were expected to attempt only 40 in an hour. In this term, students will have to attempt all 50 questions. The paper will be for 50 marks, instead of 60. A teacher from a south Mumbai college said the university could have made an attempt to change the paper pattern to bring some credibility to the test. “Or they should have had a centralized system in place to ensure online exams are not taken as lightly as they are now,” she said.
The final exams are usually held in March. The academic term this year started after a delay of a month and a half, and so the exams have been pushed to May. While university officials had earlier mentioned that the exams would be held online, there was no official word adding to the anxiety of students. Vinod Patil, director (Board of Examinations and Evaluations), Mumbai University, said the paper pattern for all tests will be the same as the winter exams. As admissions to professional courses were delayed this year and are still going on in some cases, the first-year exams will be scheduled at a later date, said Patil.
Courtesy- TOI