IK Gujral Punjab Technical University dealing with exam schedule queries

Deepkamal Kaur

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, June 17

As over a lakh students await the decision of the IK Gujral Punjab Technical University (IKGPTU) over the conduct of its online examination that it announced to be scheduled from July 1, the faculty at the campus these days is busy handling multiple queries of students throughout the day.

Rajneesh Sharma, Public Relations Officer (PRO), says, “When we announced our decision to hold an online examination, our 14,000 students, who are natives of J&K, opposed to it and said they would not be able to take up the examination. The online examination was difficult for them as they only have access to weak 2G internet connection. They even said the offline examination was not possible for them as the inter-state travel was not possible at this stage owing to the Covid-19 restrictions.”

He added, “Even as this confusion prevailed, it was at the same juncture that Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh announced that the Punjab universities and colleges will wait for instructions of the UGC and MHRD before taking a call on how and when to conduct the examination. The UGC is expected to make some announcements on June 22, after which we will be able to take the final call. At the same, we are now flooded with calls from the final year students that their examination be taken at the earliest as the companies with which they had got placed want them to furnish their final result for a quick absorption. So, currently, we are handling an overload of queries coming via various modes including phones, social media etc.”

The varsity PRO shared, “Many students have been calling us and telling us not to take their examination and promote them on the basis of previous examination. We are telling them that such promotee students could face problems in the higher education and even placements as their prospective employers too could raise objections. Since most of the students making such suggestions are C grade holders with percentage in the bracket of 40-50 per cent, we are telling them to take this break as a golden opportunity. We are guiding them to work hard and score well so as to improve their overall grade to at least B or above 60 per cent for a better placement.”

He added, “We sought a feedback from them asking them about their choice of examination – offline or online. This will help us decide on our future course of action.”

For freshers, Sharma said, “We are guiding them to go for pre-registration now even though the admission process may be a little late as it had a number of advantages. Our staff, which is free nowadays, is preparing a database of applicants and even interacting with them. So, they can get guidance about various scholarship schemes of university and affiliated colleges. Secondly, the UGC is guiding students to take admission close to their native places for a quick reach in Covid times. So, they can explore colleges with better faculty and facilities around them in this time. Rest, there is ample time with students for their hobby exploration, skill enhancement and technological upgradation.”