Three Days Later, DU’s Mock Test Remains An Exercise in ‘Mockery’

Delhi University’s mock test portal kept crashing, even three days after it opened to similar teething problems. 

(Photo: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

Three days after it opened to a host of glitches, Delhi University’s mock test continued to evoke anxiety and frustration among final-year students, many of whom complained of the same hurdles that were witnessed on the first day.

Taking to Twitter, several users attached screenshots of the varsity’s malfunctioning portal, while pointing out that they were unable to submit their answer sheets.

Tagging Union Human Resource Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal in her tweet, Sandy Wankhade asked “what will happen in real OBE ?” when the mock tests themselves had been riddled with problems.

The mock tests are being conducted in three slots, from 4 to 8 July, to prepare final-year students for Open Book Examinations (OBEs) that have now been postponed to 10 July.

Attaching a picture of DU’s crashing mock test portal, Rahul Kumar suggested that the university was toying with the future of students.

Probably borrowing words for his tweet from the Delhi University Teachers Association, one Ghanshyam Arora asked DU if it was “a mock test or a test of mockery?”

What Delhi University Said

On 4 July, when Delhi University began conducting mock tests for final year students, several students had told The Quint that they had received irrelevant question papers from previous semesters and at times, from a different subject altogether. They also said that the portal was crashing and that many students were not able to log-in.

However, back then, Prof Vinay Gupta, Dean of Examinations at DU, had said that the mock test was only meant to familiarise students with the process of downloading question papers and uploading answer sheets.

“In the mock test, we have not linked students with any specific paper. Since there are around 8,000 papers, you can’t put each and every one of them for a mock test. As mentioned in the notice, these are indicative question papers, and around 38 of them have been uploaded for the mock test.”

Prof Vinay Gupta, Dean of Examinations, DU

Dean Gupta also said that OBEs for final-year students would be conducted from 10 July and the same should be treated “as final and not as tentative”.

Mocking Memes

The varsity’s reaction prompted many to ask if “it is a mock test or a test of mockery?” Left disappointed by the varsity, many found meaning in memes.