There has been intense anger and dissatisfaction among the students in the Shere-Bangla Agricultural University (Shekribi) due to repeated postponement of examinations in various faculties. However, the administration claims that this decision has been taken considering the opinions of most of the students and the actual situation.
Recently, after the suspension of the examination of the 'Principle of Plant Pathology and Seed Pathology' course of the Faculty of Agriculture, the issue came into discussion again. A section of the students complain that the frequent postponement of the exams is leading to prolonged session congestion, which is negatively impacting their career and future plans. However, another section is justifying the change in exam date citing adequate preparation and long-distance travel issues.
The victimized students complained that the administration's promise to overcome the damage caused after the corona epidemic was not implemented. Due to non-adherence to the academic calendar, there has been uncertainty about completing the semester on time.
Asaduzzaman Azad, a student of the Faculty of Agriculture, said, “We took admission with a one-year session jam in mind, hoping to get over it quickly. But every semester, the exams are being postponed on some pretext or the other. Even if the administration gives a routine, they are not able to fix it. If there is a little movement, this trend of postponing the exams should stop.”
According to students, frequent schedule changes are disrupting the pace of studies and also affecting job preparation. Such incidents have happened in various faculties before. A mid-semester examination of Level-3, Semester-II of the Faculty of Agribusiness Management has been postponed by two weeks. The Level-II 'Macroeconomics-II' and Agriculture Faculty's 'Soil Physics and Soil Chemistry' examinations of the same faculty were also postponed thrice.
According to critics, academic discipline is collapsing due to excessive laxity of the administration and tendency to change decisions under pressure from students.
However, students who are in favor of postponing the exam have a different opinion. A student, who did not want to be named, said many did not get enough preparation time (PL) due to lab tests. Besides, there was a request to change the date of the examination considering the long distance, especially in North Bengal, transportation crisis and safety of girls. The administration took this decision only after nearly 200 students applied together.
In this regard, the vice-chancellor of the university said. Belal Hossain said, “This decision was taken at the last minute considering the real problems of the students. 192 applications came in favor of the examination, and only 6 were in favor of the examination on time. Therefore, this step was taken considering the benefits of the majority. It is not right to call it weakness of the administration.”
He further informed that written undertaking has been taken from the Class Representatives (CR) to avoid such situations in future and the administration has taken a policy decision not to postpone any more exams.
On the other hand, the Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture Professor A. M. M. Shamsuzzaman expressed his anger and said, “The administration is being forced to take decisions under the pressure of the students. There have even been cases of standing in front of the teacher's residence.” According to him, internal grouping and disagreements among students are also responsible for the postponement of the 'Soil Physics and Soil Chemistry' exam three times.
He said, “This culture of canceling or postponing exams is setting a very negative precedent for the university, which needs to come out quickly.”
According to the university officials, while the logical issues of the students need to be considered, repeated postponement of the exams can cause institutional damage in the long run. Hence both sides demand to follow a specific and rigorous academic plan.
