“Why does it take so long?” is a common question uttered by a LU student at least once during their academic career here. Be it long queues at the office, waiting for official information, waiting for information, and now, apparently, waiting for Semester results.
That last one is what I want to talk about, as this particular ongoing issue has crossed all limits of ridiculousness. To give you some more context, let me paint a picture of what it was like for us in Sem I. To put it bluntly, everything in Sem I was simply late. A Late start. Late end. Late notices. Late exams. And this pattern drove us all mad.
When it came to exams, almost the entire month of December passed with no official information about anything related to Sem I exams. It felt like we were all suspended in the air and just waiting to come back down to Earth all of a sudden. I, along with my friends, made numerous trips to the Faculty Offices to inquire about literally any piece of information they were willing to share with students, but they all just kept saying, “Any day now.” And this particular phrase really irked us all because it showed a serious lack of accountability on the Administration’s part. They didn’t seem to care, and it frustrated us because we needed them to care. Any attempts at inquiring about anything official nowadays are met with tight-lipped glances and a general unwillingness to share any information.
So, after all that monkeying around, we finally had our date sheets released around the end of December, and the same went for exam forms. And as you would’ve expected, everything surrounding this felt rushed. Hell, even the datesheet itself was shorter than usual. Rather than stretching out for a whole month or more, almost all exams, barring a few, were concluded by 25th January. And this rush put a lot of stress and anxiety on us because we didn’t anticipate it would be like this. How could we have known? We were asking for information, and suddenly, exams are just a week away, and all the exams feel too close to each other.
That was the story of Sem I. Now, the story of Sem II. After our exams concluded, we expected to receive at least a week of holidays before Sem II classes started, but all our hopes were dashed when we received the notice that our classes would be starting from 27th January. Can you believe it? So soon!
And all for what? If I described Sem I as late, then I’d describe Sem 2 as rushed. Because everything felt rushed, Professors were rushing to conclude the syllabus. Some subjects had syllabuses which absolutely required more time, but we weren’t granted that luxury. Sem II barely lasted 3 months, and it felt like a complete blur. And throughout it all, we anticipated our Sem I results. It loomed over us as time stretched on. We were both excited and nervous, itching to see how we performed, if our expectations were correct or not, and we kept waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
Rumours suggested that our exam results would be out by 15th March. Then the 15th came and went. Nothing. Then, suddenly, the date shifted to 30th March, and the same thing happened again. As of writing, it’s 29th April and B.A. and B.Sc students still don’t have their Sem I results. And once again, we all wonder in unison, “Just WHY does it take so long?” and because of this, everything is halted, including our exam forms! And of course, my attempts at inquiring about all this were met with the same trademark tight-lippedness this Administration is known for.
It’s even more frustrating because the average length of a semester here is supposed to be six months. Yeah, you read that right. Six Months. It’s a miracle if Semesters stretch till four months; six months is a dream for all of us. And it’d be so much better if it were that way! One must wonder: Where is all that extra time being spent? Where is it being utilised? Certainly not in improving administrative duties and performance. Same old system with the same old issues, no resolution in sight. And it hurts us students, the most because this is our academic career that’s hanging in the balance because of all this negligence. Let me share a personal anecdote to hammer home why this needs to change.
I am doing a second degree from IGNOU, and in IGNOU, exams happen twice a year. June and December, and IGNOU’s system, being fairly flexible, allows you to register for exams when you’re ready to give them. There’s no mandate for you to give an exam in either of the exam cycles. I registered for June 2026 because I expected that by now, we’d have information regarding LU exams, and the datesheet would be out. Now, I am not so sure anymore. This extended delay is making things worse for me, causing me great stress and anxiety because if this delay lasts till June and exams start in June, it’d directly clash with my IGNOU exams, the dates of which were released two months ago! An exam clash is one of the worst things that can happen to any student. That’s precious time you’re not getting back. That’s precious money you’re not getting back, AND it directly hurts your grades as well. LU won’t take any accountability for this negligence. For this delay. For anything, really. It’ll be business as usual for them, and I’ll have to face everything.
We, as students, just want clarity. We want answers. We want accountability. We want punctuality. So much is expected of us in so many phases of our lives, especially in our academic career, and we fulfill our roles with due diligence. Why can’t the Administration do the same? Why can’t we expect basic timeliness from the administration of an institution as big as the University of Lucknow? It’s carelessness at this point. And reasons like mine are why this administration absolutely, positively and urgently NEEDS to do something about this. If it keeps going on like this, if it continues to be so, then it’ll continue hurting students and their academics, and LU’s image of being a decent University will also fade with it. It’s imperative for the Administration to get its act together, or more issues will keep on rearing their ugly heads.