A hundred and forty faculty members of different colleges and universities in West Bengal have issued a public statement regarding the difficulties in holding end semester examinations with the exigencies arising from increasing CoVid19 infections and cyclone Amphan. A copy of the statement has been emailed to the Hon’ble MIC and the Dept, of Higher Education.

Universities and colleges saw at most two and a half months’ teaching in undergraduate and one and a half months’ teaching in PG courses before educational institutes were shut in the state. With unequal access to internet, the most marginalised and vulnerable students have not been able to participate in online teaching/learning. Compounded by lack of electricity owing to the cyclone, holding end semester exams a month after the lock down will deprive most students.

Public Statement by concerned faculty members of colleges and universities in West Bengal

Schools, colleges, universities and other educational institutions in West Bengal were closed from 15th March 2020, more than a week before the nationwide lockdown.

Colleges have been closed for more than 60 days already, with no clear indication emerging about the resumption of vehicles, or the slowing down of the spread of COVID 19. Till the date of closure, undergraduate students across universities had had roughly two months of classroom teaching in this semester, and postgraduate (PG) students even less. Some universities had just concluded their previous semester’s examinations, and started the even semester’s teaching for PG and research programmes.

Various newspaper articles and television channels have quoted Dr. Partha Chatterjee, the Hon’ble Minister-in-charge of the Department of Higher Education, WB, as saying that exams in colleges and universities will be held one month after the lock-down ends. This declaration has not only created significant confusion among students and teachers alike, but it has also raised a series of concerns about the quality and accessibility of education imparted in the last two months, as well as the feasibility of conducting exams/classes in the middle of a pandemic.

According to the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) report 2018-2019, West Bengal has more than 1370 institutions of higher education. with close to 20 lakh students. Over the past nine years, many colleges and Universities have been set up by the state government in rural and remote areas, while a huge number of students enrolled in higher education in urban centres hail from distant villages. With the lock-down, they have had to go back home, with no access to the help that institutional and public libraries offer. ‘Key Indicators of Household Social Consumption on Education In India NSS 75th Round (JULY 2017- JUNE 2018)’ states that only 14.9% of rural and 42% of urban households in India have internet facility, and our interactions with students attest to the fact that often the same internet connection (usually a smartphone) is shared by several members of the household. During the pandemic, teachers have been trying to continue students’ academic engagements via Whatsapp voice notes, conference call over mobile networks, PDF files, and in rare instances, video conferencing. A vast majority of students cannot be a part of synchronous teaching over con-calls and video conferences, due to network connectivity and bandwidth limitations, data limitations and other exigencies. Most colleges do not have dedicated portals for students and teachers to use, making them depend on their personal resources to partake of the teaching learning process. PDFs are difficult to read on the phone, causing immense strain to the eyes, and students have reported that due to data restrictions even those with good connectivity cannot access video lectures such as those available on the National Digital Library. Such piecemeal attempts to ‘finish’ the syllabus has left little or no scope for discussion, and laboratory-based subjects have become impossible to be taught. Additionally, there are reports of students having to perform long hours of housework, look after ailing family members, deal with personal traumas and financial anxieties caused by the pandemic

Alongside this, most colleges and universities in West Bengal suffer from a lack of space. Students and teachers travel in crowded local trains or public buses, often across great distances; students stay in shared Paying Guest accommodations or hostel rooms and sit in crowded, often ill-ventilated classrooms. Sometimes three colleges share the same building across one day, making regular sanitisation almost impossible.

At this juncture, according to newspaper reports, some universities have taken the right decision to evaluate students on the basis of internal assessments/assignments, and to avoid face to face interaction till there is clarity about the pandemic and the ways in which we must alter our lives and institutions around it. However, most universities, including the ones with many affiliated colleges, as well as in provincial locations, have not yet notified their means of evaluation. In the present scenario, asking students to come to college once the lock-down ends and sit for a pen ~ and paper examination, within existing possibilities of contamination would be deeply unfair and life-endangering. The digital divide makes online examinations impossible beyond a doubt. News reports claim that one in 10 of all Indians who go out to work have either already lost, or are likely to lose their jobs in the course of the pandemic. We are yet to assess the impact of economic downsizing on the lives of students from marginal communities, who have got a chance to access higher education in West Bengal because of several beneficial state schemes.

We therefore urge the remainder of the universities, and the Department of Higher Education, WB, to either evaluate students on the basis of the average of their previous results, or on the basis of assignments, or a combination of the two, keeping them safe and not penalising them for not having access to the internet. Universities need to decide upon the modality after extensive consultation with all the stakeholders, and provide clarity in the matter at the earliest.

Postscript: This statement was prepared and endorsed before super cyclone Amphan hit Bengal. All the concerns raised above have become even more serious in the aftermath of the cyclone, with houses, roads, schools demolished, people seeking shelter in camps and no electricity or internet connection. This extraordinary human and ecological calamity has to be taken into account before reaching any decision.

Endorsed by

1. Samata Biswas, The Sanskrit College and University
2. Sumanta Mukhopadhyay, Bethune College
3. Debaditya Bhattacharya, Kazi Nazrul University
4. Priyanka Das, Presidency University
5. Suman Nath, Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam Government College
6. Sipra Roy, Sivanath Sastri College
7. Sanjay Roy, North Bengal University
8. Subarna Mondal, The Sanskrit College and University
9. Srimoyee Roy, The Bhawanipur Education Society College
10. Raktima Ghosh, The Bhawanipur Education Society College
11. Debabrata Lahiri, Hooghly Mohsin College
12. Kushal Biswas, Women’s Christian College
13. Ananya Chatterjee, Haldia Government College
14. Arpita Sengupta, Barasat Government College
15. Debolina Das, Haldia Government College
16. Moutan Roy, Haldia Government College
17. Amit Kumar Roychoudhury,Bidhannagar Government college
18. Rongili Biswas,Barasat Government college.
19. Dipanwita Choudhury, Sarojini Naidu College For Women
20. Pallab Das, Mankar College.
21. Debarati Dutta, Dhupguri Girls’ College
22. Debashis Mandal, B B College, Asansol
23. Ranjan Ghosh, University of North Bengal
24. Santanu Banerjee, Kazi Nazrul University, Asansol
25. N. Islam, Bangabasi College
26. Sajalkumar Bhattacharya, Kazi Nazrul University
27. Pavel Pal, Bankura University
28. Rajlaxmi Mukherjee, Garhbeta College
29. Debalina Banerjee, Bethune College
30. Arunima Sen, Matiaburj College
31. Sandip Biswas, Panchur College
32. Ratul Ghosh, ABN Seal College
33. Debapratim Chakraborty, Barasat Govt. College
34.  Kalyanashish Bhattacharya, Keshiary Govt. College
35. Amrita Dasgupta, Loreto College
36. Kunal Chattaopadhyay, Jadavpur University
37. Aditi Matilal, Basirhat College
38. Monalisa Jha, Lady Brabourne College
39. Swati Mitra, Barasat Govt. College
40.  Maroona Murmu, Jadavpur University
41. Pinaki Patra, Brahmananda Keshab Chandra College
42. Sanjukta Roy, Bethune College
43.  Anindita Basu, S. A. Jaipuria College, Kolkata
44. Madhurilata Basu, Sarojini Naidu College for Women
45. Priyanka Chatterjee, University of North Bengal
46. Ipshita Samanta, Lady Brabourne College
47. Goutam Manna, Prabhat Kumar College, Contai
48. Afroja Khatun, Surendranath College for Women, Kolkata
49. Md Rabiul Islam, Raiganj University, Raiganj
50. Parimal Bhattacharya,  Maulana Azad College,  Kolkata
51. Kaustubh mani sengupta,Bankura University
52. Sohini Roy, Sister Nibedita Govt. General Degree College for Girls.
53. Sanchayita Manna, Garhbeta College.
54. Aditi Bhattacharya, Barasat Government College
55. Sayan Mondal, Sarojini Naidu College for Women
56. Pubali Chakraborty, Serampore College.
57. Arindam Ghosh, Krishna Chandra College, Hetampur, Birbhum
58. Santanu Sengupta , S A. Jaipuria  College , Kolkata -05
59.  Gauriprasad Nanda, Umeshchandra      College
60. Gargi Basu, S.A. Jaipuria College, Kolkata
61. Sonal Kapur, The Bhawanipur Education Society College
62. Sulagna Chakraborty, Lady Brabourne College
63.  Tanushree Sahu, S. A. Jaipuria College, Kolkata
64. Tista Das, Bankura University
65. Subhro kumar Mukhopadhyay, Principals (Retd.) WBES
66. Krishna Adhikari, Kandra Radhakanta Kundu College, Burdwan
67. Avik Ghosh, Taki Govt College
68. Kranti Dewan, Calcutta Girls College, CU
69. Subhajeet Singha, Deshapran Mahavidyalaya
70. Arpita Rakshit,Seth Anandram Jaipuria College,Kolkata
71.  Indrajit Mukherjee, Nistarini College
72. Biswajit Mukherjee, Muragachha Govt College
73.  Samik Sen, NBPC Mahavidyalaya
74. Alo Guha , Seth Anandram Jaipuria College, Kolkata.
75.  Barnali Pain, S. A. Jaipuria College, Kolkata.
76.  Arkajyoti Jana, Calcutta Girls’ College, University of Calcutta, Kolkata
77. Surajit Barua, Seth Anandram Jaipuria College, Kolkata
78. Debjani Sengupta, Taki Govt College
79. Somraj Banerjee, WBES
80. Debolina Biswas, Gurudas College, University of Calcutta, Kolkatata
81.  Anupama Maitra, Gour Mohan Sachin Mandal Mahavidyalaya, University of Calcutta.
82. Piyali Gupta, Bethune College,  Kolkata
83. Sukanta Das, Prasanta Chandra Mahalanabis Mahavidyalaya, Kolkata
84. Mithu Sinha Ray, Barasat Government College
85.  Barun Naha, SNCW, Kolkata.
86.  Sushovan Chatterjee,WBES.
87.  Arghya Ghosh, W.B.E.S.
88. Rahul Bhaumik, Women’s College, Calcutta
89. Swati Moitra, Gurudas College, University of Calcutta
90.  Mousumi Mandal, Presidency University.
91. Sahanowas sk, W.B.E.S
92. Adharshila Chatterjee, Women’s Christian College, Kolkata
93. Mandira Ghissing, Darjeeling Government College
94. Sarbojit Chatterjee,MAKAUT
95. Shivam Layek,MAKAUT
96. Subhabrata Dutta,MAKAUT
97. Subhojit Maitro,MAKAUT
98. Arkajit BASU,MAKAUT
99. Byasdeb Dasgupta, Kalyani University
100. Soumya Ray,The Bhawanipur Education Society College
101. Ipsita Chanda, S. A. Jaipuria College
102. Ipsita Sengupta, Bankura University
103. Subham Dutta, Gokhale Memorial Girls’ College, Kolkata.
104. Subarna Biswas, Kalyani University, krishnager
105. Dhiraj Barman, Presidency University, Kolkata
106. Sujay Thakur, Gangadharpur Mahavidyamandir, Howrah
107. Sanchayita Paul Chakraborty, Dr. Meghnad Saha College
108. Pritha Chakraborty, Maulana Azad College, Kolkata
109. Pritha Kundu, Hiralal Majumdar Memorial College for Women
110. Garima Dhabhai, Presidency University, Kolkata
111. Himadri Chatterjee, Kazi Nazrul University, Asansol
112. Sayantani Adhikary, Sadhan Chandra Mahavidyalaya, South 24 Paraganas
113. Anjum Parveen, Matiaburj College, Kolkata
114. Samantak Das, Jadavpur University
115. Navras J. Aafreedi, Presidency University, Kolkata
116. Mohuya Bhaumik, Sreegopal Banerjee College
117. Jaydeep Maity,Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College, Rahara
118. Abhik Dasgupta, Mankar College
119. Samana Madhuri, Chandrakona Vidyasagar Mahavidyalaya
120. Amit Kumar Das, Mankar College
121. Akash Biswas, Sreegopal Banerjee College
122. Mita Dutta, Sreegopal Banerjee College
123. Md. Azizul Haque, Sreegopal Banerjee College
124. Rudrajit Sadhu, Sreegopal Banerjee College
125. Alok Das, WBES
126. Krishna Kundu, Sreegopal Banerjee College
127. Swatee Sinha, Swami Dhananjoy Das Kathiababa Mahavidyalaya
128. Neli Mukherjee, Chhatra Ramai Pandit Mahavidyalaya
129. Anasuya Bhar, St. Paul’s Cathedral Mission College
130. Kalyan Kumar Das, Presidency University
131. Probal Dasgupta, retd. Professor, ISI.
132. Shyamalendu Majumdar, Sivanath Sastri College
133. Roshan Lal Dewangan, Kazi Nazrul University
134. Varsha Mitra, Kazi Nazrul University
135. Sumita Mukhopadhyay, Bethune College
136. Eesha Moktan, Government General Degree College, Pedong
137. Pubali Dhar, Calcutta University
138. Swagata Bhattacharya, S. A. Jaipuria College
139. Arpita Chakrabarti, Asansol Girls’ College
140. Amrita Bagchi, Bethune College