Covid-hit Mandi IGNOU students face five-year delay in practical exams
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The Newz Radar
MANDI: Nearly 15 students enrolled in the 2019 batch at the IGNOU study centre in Mandi have been awaiting the completion of their practical exams for the past five years.
Initially, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, these students were granted promotion during their first year. Subsequently, the second-year exams were postponed, causing a ripple effect in their academic progression. Although the third-year exams were successfully conducted in December 2022, the practical exams for the second year were scheduled for 2022. Regrettably, these students were only promoted in theory, with no opportunity to undertake their practical assessments.
Despite filling out practical exam forms, the students received no notification of examination dates from the Mandi centre. While some managed to travel to Hamirpur and complete their first-year practical in August-September 2023, many others faced challenges arranging accommodation, food and other expenses, preventing them from attending. Additionally, constraints such as limited vacation time in other institutions further hindered their travel to participate in the exams.
Currently, these students are shuttling between study centres in Mandi and the regional centre in Shimla in pursuit of completing their practical exams, getting only assurances without any concrete progress. They have now been informed that they must travel to different locations for each practical exam, contradicting IGNOU’s ethos of providing convenience for students to balance their studies with other responsibilities.
IGNOU study centre coordinator Rajkumar and regional director (Shimla) Jogendra Kumar have acknowledged the issue, citing logistical challenges due to low student numbers. However, they have assured that appropriate measures would be taken to address the plight of students.
