Two semesters but just a month to prepare, engineering students wait for clarity from Mumbai University

Students want the Mumbai University to give them the exam schedule. Representation pic

In the era of COVID-19, relief seems to be nowhere in sight for students. Youngsters, who took direct second year admission to engineering colleges this year, have become the latest lot to suffer from the complications created by the prevailing pandemic.

Students upon completing their diploma course get direct admission to second year of engineering courses. The Coronavirus outbreak last year delayed their admission so much that they ended up missing their first examination - which is the third semester in colleges. It was held in December.

Now, they are faced with two back-to-back exams and very little time to prepare the entire academic year's syllabus. Colleges have told them they will have to give their Semester III exams in April, leaving barely a couple of weeks to prepare. However, there is no word from the Mumbai University yet. Once they are done with the exams in April, students have to get down to prepare for Semester IV exams - conducted in June.

Overburdened with an entire year of syllabus, students are taking more classes than usual, besides working on their projects and other assignments. They are spending about eight hours in front of the screen. Students are not only overwhelmed, but confused too, as they don't yet have the Semester III exam schedule.

"After the entire admission process ended, the online college for direct second year students began only after February 8. But by then exams for Semester III, for which we had just begun to study, was already over," said a student from Kharghar college, adding that he now attends eight hours of online lectures daily to catch up.
"Four lectures are held daily for regular students. We are attending six lectures to cover the Semester III syllabus as well. We also have submissions and project works. And we still don't have an exam schedule for our Semester III exam," said another student.

"After appearing for the Semester III exam in April, we will have to write the Semester IV exam in June. That again leaves us with about a month's time to exclusively prepare for it," said a student from a Dombivli college.

Vaibhav Edke from Maharashtra Students Welfare Association, who is helping aggrieved students reach out to the authorities, said, "These direct second year students are under tremendous academic load. The least that Mumbai University can do is offer clarity on their exam time table so that these students can study accordingly."

June
Month the Semester IV exams are generally conducted

April
Month their Semester III exams could be held, while they have just a couple of weeks to prepare for it