Gujarat University may start SMS alerts for exams

After receiving numerous complaints about changes in exam centres at the last minute, the examination department of Gujarat University (GU) is thinking about introducing bulk SMS alerts for all students who are appearing for exams.

Jitendra Lilani, examination controller, GU, said this system will prove more efficient than the alert given on the website of the university. "We are working on the system, but it may take time before it is implemented," he said.

The third phase of GU's annual exam has started from April 13. Out of 268 exam centres, 108 are in Ahmedabad city and 170 are outstation centres. More than 60,000 students will appear for the third phase of exams that include students of TY BCom, TY BA, B.Ed, M.Ed (old pattern), MLW, FY and TY BSc, SY BBA and TY BCA.

Recently, Around 200 students appearing for TY BCA (Third Year Bachelor of Computer Applications) exam  were put in trouble due to the last minute change of exam centre by the university. The students were earlier informed that their centre would be Nav Gujarat College, Ashram Road. However, when they reached the college on Wednesday, they were informed that the new centre is HK Arts College. This had angered many students.

In another incident, many students coming from other cities for FY LLB exams had faced the same problem. "When I reached the centre, I realised that my exam centre had changed. Due to this, I reached late for the exam," said Dhaval, a student of FY LLB living in Kapadvanj.

GU had changed the exam centre from Nanavati College and L D Arts College to K S School of Management two days before the exam. "How can we come to know about such last-minute changes? The university must have an efficient system in place to inform all its students," said Hardik, a third-year BCA student. He added that uploading information on the university's website was not an effective way of  communicating with students. Three months ago, officials had announced that GU had become India's first digital campus and that students could attend lectures through their mobile phones. Students are now waiting to get at least simple SMS alerts.