Pune: The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has announced that the examinations for backlog subjects will be conducted after Diwali. The assessment will be based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) papers which can be attempted through online mode by the students. These examinations were on hold for the past seven months and hence students can now heave a sigh of relief.

About three lakh students are expected to appear for the examinations of backlog subjects. The decision to conduct these examinations was taken by the Pune University after a meeting of the examination board that took place on Wednesday. The officials decided that re-examination of final year students, examination of backlog subjects and examination for students who had submitted their application for re-evaluation shall be conducted through online mode after Diwali festival.

Due to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Pune University had announced that except the final year students, all others will be promoted to the next grade based on the average marks obtained by the respective candidates in their earlier semesters. However, the University Act says that the examination for backlog subjects cannot be cancelled and hence the university had to decide about when they can conduct these examinations in a safe manner. Also the university rule says that the examinations for backlog subjects of students who have been promoted to the next grade, should be conducted within 120 days.

About 45 per cent of students from traditional courses and first, second and third year students from courses like pharmacy, engineering have backlog of one or more subjects. This total number of students is expected to be around 3 lakh. At present, the SPPU is conducting examinations for about 2.5 lakh students. However, students who opted for online and MCQ based assessment have been facing number of problems while attempting the answers.

Besides, more than 17,000 students who were promoted to next grade based on their average marks and performance in earlier semesters, are unhappy with the marks they have obtained. They have also applied for re-evaluation and their examination will also be conducted along with others.

Dr NS Umrani, Pro-Vice Chancellor of SPPU said, “Re-examination for students who had filled the google form and submitted their complaints, will be conducted in the first week of November. Since it is mandatory to conduct examinations for backlog subjects in 120 days, these exams will also be conducted on MCQ and online mode. The exact dates for the examinations will be announced soon.”