Mumbai University gives just 60 days for exam preparation

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Exams are meant to put students' knowledge to the test. However, the Mumbai University (MU) exam timetable for the Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) seems to be testing the patience of Master of Arts (MA) students instead.

According to the time table for the Semester-IV exams, they will begin on June 6, even as the Semester-III exams for MA courses concluded on April 10. This gives the students - most of whom are working professionals - only two months to finish their syllabus.

"They announce a timetable for the next exam even before the results of the previous exams are declared. They will provide notes in PDF format a week before and then conduct lectures just a few days before the exam. How will working professionals be able to finish the syllabus in less than two months? We enrolled in IDOL as we have time limitations," said a student.

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Another student - also a working professional - has already taken leave in March and April for exams and said it would be extremely difficult to apply for leave again in June after a two-month gap. Other students said they had planned family vacations in May and June, as schools, too, will reopen only after June 14.

Meanwhile, a senior university official said, this year's academic sessions started late, due to which the exams have been delayed. "We cannot delay results. We had declared all results in or before August last year. Hence, it was decided to conduct the exams in June," the official said.

A former senate member of MU, Sudhakar Tamboli, termed the move "outrageous". "IDOL is inconveniencing students just so that they can declare the results on time. They cannot rush students like this," Tamboli said, adding that the university has to defer the exam.