Universities are for students. Every single decision should be about what’s best for the students. Lately ,first-year students at Lucknow University have been wondering if anyone cares about them.
For a time ,first-year students did not know when their exams would be. They kept checking the university website looking at notice boards and scrolling through WhatsApp groups. They just wanted to know when their exams would happen.
This was very frustrating. Then something even more annoying happened. The university asked students to fill out exam forms before they even knew when the exams would be. Then the university announced summer vacation dates before announcing the exam schedule . This was surprising. Students found out when their holidays would be before they knew when their exams would end.
How can you plan a vacation when you do not know when your exams will finish? This is not reasonable. Summer break is important for students. They use this time to get internships, take courses, visit family, travel or just relax. The university made planning nearly impossible.They left students waiting until the last minute.
When the exam schedule finally came out, it was a surprise. First-year exams would be from June 11 to June 22. This is right in the middle of summer vacation. Senior students got two months off. First-year students got only a month. As if that were not enough, the vacation that was supposed to happen became an exam period instead.
The exams will take place during the hottest time of the year in Lucknow. Students will have to commute and sit in hot exam rooms. This could have been avoided with planning.
The timing of the exams is also bad. Exams start at 8:30 a.m. Students who live away have to leave home hours earlier. By the time they sit down to take their exam they are already tired.
Students can handle schedules, but they should not have to feel like their time and concerns do not matter.
What is particularly concerning is that the university was talking about uniforms and dress codes while students were waiting for exam information. Nobody is saying that discipline is unimportant. But when students do not know when their exams are why does what they wear seem to be more important?
This is not about one bad exam schedule. It is about how the university keeps students in the dark. Students are expected to adjust to things all the time. They are never really asked about decisions that affect their lives.
A university is great because it supports its students. Students are not asking for special treatment. They just want communication and planning. They want to know that someone is thinking about how decisions affect them.
When you spend weeks looking for exam updates and all you hear about is your dress code it is hard not to think that the university does not care about students. The dress code is not the problem. The problem is that students keep asking for help and keep getting ignored. No uniform policy can fix this.