24 October,2014 05:31 PM IST | | Shreya Bhandary
Students are panicking as the timetable on the university website says the exams will begin on November 11; Controller of Examinations says it is wrong, exams will be held after December 1
Mumbai University website, law exams preponed, timetable incorrect, Controller of Examinations, Mumbai news
Law students were in for a rude shock on the first day of Diwali, with a firework of a different kind from the University of Mumbai, which âpre-poned' their exams.
The law exams were slated to begin on December 2, but the new timetable released on Wednesday on the university website shows that the exams will now begin on November 11, leaving them with less than 19 days to prepare.
However the firework that gave the bigger shock, came when mid-day contacted the Controller of Examinations (Mumbai University), and he said the wrong timetable had been uploaded online and because of Diwali holidays, the correct timetable will go online only on Monday.
"The law examinations will begin after December 1, and the timetable that is currently on the university website is wrong. Since our staff is on holiday, the correct timetable will be uploaded on Monday. Students have nothing to worry about," said Dinesh Bonde, Controller of Examinations.
He added that the exams were always slated to start in the first week of December but due to changes to other aided and unaided courses, a timetable was set for law faculty as well.
"But we redid the exam schedule for the law faculty, and finally all papers will begin after December 1," added Bonde. Meanwhile, students have shown their displeasure on various social media websites and are also planning to approach the university on this matter.
"Not only is this shocking, but it's unfair to law students. The university should have announced these dates at least one month in advance, giving us enough time to prepare for the exams. While the timetables for other courses were released earlier this month, we are being informed only now," said a second year law student from Rizvi College, Bandra.
She added that students had previously been informed that their exams, for all semesters (three and five year courses), were supposed to begin after December 2. The exam schedule has created bigger problems for students who are currently travelling and are not in the country during Diwali holidays.
"Three of my friends are currently not in the country and will be back by the end of this month. After checking the exam schedule on the university website, we informed these friends, who are now planning to cut short their vacation and return. What sort of game is the university playing with us?" said Rahul Chavan, a first year law student.
He added that many students vented their anger on Facebook and Twitter and have also left comments on the university website. To make matters worse, with the staff of the university on holiday, there has been no help from the helpline numbers as well. "We tried calling the university but no one is answering calls.
Even though there are rumours that our exams might only begin on December 1, we can't believe the same till we see a fresh schedule on the university website. This has ruined our holiday plans," said another student from the Government Law College, Churchgate. Students are now waiting for the university to upload the fresh timetable on the website so they can heave a sigh of relief.
