For the past year and a half, students pursuing BSc and MSc in IT under the University’s Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) programme have not been able to complete any practicals as the sole IT lab for such students at the university’s Kalina campus is shut.
Nearly 3,000 students enrolled in the undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Mumbai University’s IT department through the distance mode have been left in the lurch as the computer laboratory at the university is non-functional. For the past year and a half, students pursuing BSc and MSc in IT under the University’s Institute of Distance and Open Learning (IDOL) programme have not been able to complete any practicals as the sole IT lab for such students at the university’s Kalina campus is shut.
Aggrieved students have approached university officials urging them to provide them the necessary infrastructure at the earliest. “The university is not giving us the most basic facility required for the subject. Most students who opted for the course through the distance mode are working and do not have enough resources to procure the latest technology required for the subject. With exams coming up, the students are stressed as they are not being able to practise for the practical exams,” said a BSc student on condition of anonymity.
Another student said, “During the time of admissions, we were told that lab facilities would be provided in the campus itself. But in reality, the lab here is non-functional. When we raised our concerns, we were told to go to a centre in Kandivali West where the lab is so small that it can barely accommodate 10 per cent of the total students.”
Sanjay Vairal, an ex-senate member of the university, said that the university is not concerned about the students. “IT is a subject that requires practical work at each point. Some students said that the teachers asked them to submit a written assignment instead of the practical one. What is the point of conducting a course for which there is no basic infrastructure?” he asked.
Fifty marks in each of the five subjects are allotted to assignments and practical work. Students said that in the absence of adequate infrastructure, the university cannot evaluate them.
Dr Ambuja Salgaonkar, director, IDOL, refused to comment when asked about the issue. However, an IDOL official, on the condition of anonymity, said that they have already raised the issue with the university. “The computers in the lab have become old and thus cannot be used by these students. We have raised a demand for new computers and would soon be able to open the lab for use from the next semester onwards,” added the official.
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