To
The Vice-Chancellor,
University of Kashmir

Subject: Online examinations as the way
forward in this pandemic

Respected Sir,

I am a student of Kashmir University (main campus) pursuing the MBA course. When a student writes a letter to the Vice chancellor, the matter is presumably salient. This one is a bit more than that. As business students we are taught that we might face unprecedented problems in life. What we are facing today is undoubtedly unprecedented but hopefully we will find a solution soon. But to survive just doesn’t mean to breathe; it also means to keep making some progress in one’s life. Only by doing that will we be able to compensate for what we have lost.
Kashmir is now going in its 10th month of lockdown since August 5, 2019. Things had just started to look promising in February and March when this pandemic broke. The mental trauma of this new lockdown is getting worse with each passing day. Imagine yourself as someone aspiring to crack the civil service examination, but stuck in one semester for the past 10 months. Imagine the amount of pressure we students have been subjected to. It is better not to talk about online classes, for formal letters should be not about jokes. Lip-reading and telepathy have not yet been included among our subjects, otherwise we would’ve done well in those classes. I do want to go into the details of the issues we face in online classes but I do not want this letter to be discarded just like our demand for 4G.
Without getting into any political stuff, I just seek your attention to the conduct of online examinations, which can enable us to make up for lost time. Internal assessments and MCQ-based online examinations are the way ahead, as is happening in many states in India and in other countries. On the other hand, combining the semesters and waiting to conduct pen-and-paper exams is nothing but putting students through more pressure and trauma. The UGC guidelines need to be adopted as the best way forward, rather than the suggestion of some of our respected senior teachers to adopt a policy of wait and watch.
In Kashmir, letters like these are often ignored, and replies never come. But I hope that someone takes our education seriously and I wish that “someone” is you. I end this letter with the hope that not only the words will be read but also the emotions will be understood. Wishing you a great health and a Happy Eid ahead.

Yours Respectfully,
Amaan Mir

Guest