Students hailing from J&K were left in a lurch on Friday after the decision of the Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMU) to hold proctored online examinations due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic from December 16 onwards.
“We are facing multiple challenges in Kashmir to sit for any online examination. First and foremost is the handicap of the speed of the Internet, which is 2G in most districts in J&K. Two, prolonged electricity cuts impact both charging of gadgets and the availability of the Internet. Three, in case of any operation of the security forces against militants, the Internet is snapped most of the time in the Valley. In the backdrop, students from the Valley will find it hard to appear in the examination,” a Jamia student from Srinagar, pleading anonymity, said.
Nasir Khuehami, a students’ activist, has started an online campaign against the JMIU’s decision. “This whole move will lead to psychological trauma among students, financial constraints among their families and most of all the unlawful, unethical ineligibility, which will result in their failure,” Mr. Khuehami tweeted.
He said the unending saga of the COVID-19 pandemic had also led to an economic collapse. “Many students already belonging to the downtrodden section cannot afford to buy new electronic gadgets,” Mr. Khuehami said. “Heavy snowfall in Kashmir leads to power cuts of seven-eight hours due to which students won’t have any alternative to Wi-Fi services as well.”
National Conference (NC) president and Member of Parliament, Srinagar, Dr. Farooq Abdullah, termed the JMIU’s decision “callous and isolated from the ground reality in Kashmir”.
“The announcement of the university to go for an online examination is incognisant of the ground realities in J&K. The guidelines that students would be responsible for ensuring electricity and Internet for the complete duration of the test and [that] the students would be responsible for any lapses on that front, are elitist in nature, defeating the inclusiveness that JMI stood for since its inception. The guidelines are also indifferent to issues faced by the students across J&K in general,” Dr. Abdullah said.
Dr. Abdullah requested the university authorities “to go for assignment mode to evaluate students or come up with 4G enabled Internet centres across J&K to facilitate the students”.
“I also call upon the J&K administration to make adequate arrangements for fast Internet to help over 200 students to fill forms and also appear in various online exams of the university,” Dr. Abdullah said.
