For students entering the four-year undergraduate programme (FYUP), taking a laptop under Delhi University’s scheme is no longer a good idea as several students are bearing the brunt of it this examination season. As per rules, the students of first-year were issued laptops under the clause that they would return it whenever the university demanded. However, defaulters this year were withheld from appearing in the semester-end examinations until they returned the device in an operable condition or paid back the required remuneration.
Students have arrived at this situation irrespective of insured laptops. An official at Kirori Mal College said, “Unless the college gets reimbursement - from the students or the insurance - the admit card cannot be given. Thus, many students may have to even sit out of their entire examination period.”
According to teachers in several colleges, these laptops have turned into a nightmare for most of the children. Principal PGDAV Day College, Dr MM Goel said, “Students were given laptops to study, but they can’t sit for exams because of them. The insurance claims are not honoured in such cases because students lose their laptops out of carelessness. Thus, students have to repay the college since they signed an undertaking before taking the laptops.” Goel added that students are also penalised for technical faults in the laptops being returned. “Some laptops are damaged, reformatted and even dysfunctional when returned. This is natural because software often gets corrupt due to virus. This is unfair to students,” he said.
A student in North Campus said that he had to pay the money irrespective of his laptop being stolen from the campus. He added, “It is not in my or my family’s means to provide for the money. I will probably have to borrow money from others.” Similarly, a student in the South Campus rued, “There is no way I can arrange for
the money. The laptop
was given to benefit the students but now I have to sit out of my exams.”
Meanwhile, there are a few colleges that have allowed students to sit for exams on the condition that they would pay back the money before the next term begins. College of Vocational Studies, on the flipside, has not taken the laptops back from the students. Principal, Dr Inder Jeet said, “Since we have to redistribute the laptop to the students in the next semester, we decided to not take the laptops back. No instruction came to us as well. We will now only take the laptop back from the students when they are graduating. It is their responsibility to safeguard the laptops till then.”