Sambalpur: Amid the surge of COVID-19 cases on Odisha campuses, the students of Gangadhar Meher University (GMU) students agitated in front of the Sambalpur Collector’s office to demand holding of Plus III exams in the online mode.
“The university has announced third-semester examinations from April 19 through offline mode. How is this a feasible arrangement when COVID-19 cases are surging across the state? If the exams are held offline, the students will be at risk of exposure to the virus,” a second-year student, Subrat Satpathy, was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.
According to another protesting student, Anupama Seth, the classes were held online and the authorities should adopt a similar method for exams.
Sambalpur Collector Shubham Saxena assured the students of necessary action regarding the matter.
GMU Vice-Chancellor N Nagaraju, however, said the university cannot take the decision to conduct online examinations. “If the Higher Education department wants, exams can be held online,” he added.
On the same day, Paradip College students staged a dharna outside the campus with the same demand for their online semester examination. A faculty member of the college has tested COVID-19 positive.
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