Friday, March 29, 2024
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Chaotic exam pressure

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Editor,

This letter is not just from my side but this is what thousands of final semester under- graduate students have been tormented with. Our career is being tortured in the most brutal way by none other than the most prestigious university of North East India, the North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) and I have no regret in saying this.

Firstly, we were taught nothing in the name of the so-called online classes all these months and only in the last moment, just a few days prior to our exams, most teachers got charged up and rushed to complete their syllabus ignoring the fact that most students could not even cope up with the online classes and “concept and understanding” was brutally murdered by most teachers. Secondly, NEHU decided to conduct online as well as offline exams for the UG students and on September 23  2020 we got our exam routine and therefore some students chose online mode while some chose offline mode. But just days later we all were suggested to opt for online mode by our HODs and if in case we still want to write offline then we must write an application letter to our respective principals and seek their permission. Till here things looked fine and normal. But the real chaos begins from here.

On September 28, 2020, just 9 days prior to our exams we all received a letter from NEHU about the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the UG exams and through this letter we all were informed that our online exam will be held on a website named, “My Placement Perfectice”. We were also suggested to download the app of the same website from the Google Play Store. The rating of the app was around 1.4 stars on Playstore and this was when most students started panicking. But we still downloaded the app as per the instructions of NEHU.

Again on October 1, 2020 we received another notification from NEHU informing us about a mock test that all students must attempt on the website or on the app on October 3-5 2020. This mock test was actually a mockery for every UG student  because the majority of us could not even log on to the app or the website using the credentials that were given to us by our respective colleges. The app continued crashing and the browser was unresponsive. Every time we entered our log in details it showed that our details are incorrect. When we spoke to our respective teachers they also seemed confused about this and told us that perhaps the server has crashed due to huge traffic. If this website/app couldn’t let us attempt a simple mock test then what assurance can NEHU give us that this app won’t crash or hang on the day of our actual exams. If this app couldn’t control the traffic of a few hundred students then on the day of our exams, how can we expect this website/app to control a traffic of over 22 thousand final year students?

Also, the SOP mentions that we need to write our answers in A4 sheet paper and after completing the paper we must scan our answer sheets, merge it into a single PDF file and upload the same on the website/app and also send the papers to our respective colleges. How does NEHU expect every student to be so technologically advanced when they themselves are dependent on an app with a rating of 1.4 stars on the Play Store?

We hope things get resolved soon because if it doesn’t then our sinking career will haunt us for the rest of our lives.

Yours etc.,

Name withheld on request

New faces, new expectations

Editor,

On October 1, 2020, a new Chairperson was appointed for the Meghalaya Public Service Commission. Mr Paul R. Marweiñ, a former Chief Engineer of the state’s Public Works Department, will have the honorary distinction of being the first technocrat to occupy the constitutional post. Besides Mr Marweiñ, Ms BT Sangma, another technocrat, has also been appointed as one of MPSC members. Looking at the current setup, with the exception of one member who is due to retire later this month, all the other members have secure tenures for the next few years. I would take this opportunity through this newspaper to urge the MPSC under the new leadership of Mr Marweiñ to deeply introspect on the many problems and negative criticisms that plague the Commission, and to take all steps necessary to revamp the organisation and raise it to a standard that meets with approval in the public eye.

It is the duty of the new Commission to imbibe the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability in their functioning. This is an opportune moment for the Commission to adopt new measures which are in line with the current times, and to up the ante by trying to emulate the standards set forth by the Union Public Service Commission. Another point I wish to mention is on the delay in releasing the Meghalaya Civil Services (Mains) results, which has been pending for over 7-8 months, despite being allowed to go ahead with the examination by a Division Bench of the High Court last year, subject to the outcome of a Single Bench in a particular pending matter. Even the Supreme Court has refused to interfere as of now.

Furthermore, even the Meghalaya Police Service (Prelims) exam has not been conducted, even after a span of many years since the last recruitment drive. Recruitment to government service is the principal task of the MPSC, and as informed citizens we look forward to certain constructive changes such as scrapping of interviews for certain grades of employment as proposed by PM Modi, videotaped interviews, etc., to be implemented immediately to instill confidence in the masses.

MPSC, as a matter of record, has not always been portrayed in a good light in the past. Hence they should take this opportunity to bring good vibes and changes into an already stagnant public system. MPSC is an autonomous institution under the Constitution of India, and it must remember its mandate. The Commission should insulate itself from any form of political interference, and must strive for the greater good of society. Until MPSC learns to distance itself from any political affiliation, positive change is going to be very hard to come by.

Yours etc.,

Jeremiah Syngkli,

Via email

 

Havoc caused by incessant rains

Editor,

Last week incessant rains have created havoc in the entire state. Roads were either washed away or blocked with piles of soil and boulders. Culvert and bridges were damaged or destroyed. Pipelines which supply drinking water to households were either damaged or snapped. All these have created problems not only to villagers but also to city dwellers. The natural calamity has also cost the Government Departments especially PWD and PHE dearly. The PWD must be very busy in restoring road connectivity and the PHE in restoration of water supply. I take this opportunity to thank the PHE for restoring the water supply from Umkhen in little more than a week’s time. My request to the Shillong Municipality is to deploy their water tankers so as to minimise the water problems in such times of crisis. I also express my grief and condolences  to the families that have lost their dear ones in last week’s incident.

Yours etc.,

Elisha Sweety Syiemiong,

Via email

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